Not Who You Think I Am
by HalfiesRule
Summary: Cammie's never felt more alone. Her friends hate her, and one of her closest allies might be exactly who everyone thought he was. It's all or nothing, and she'll stop at nothing to win. Can she earn the trust of her friends back or will she die with her secrets.
1. And They Return

**This is my second Gallagher Girls Series story and I'm really excited about it. This is going to be more of a teaser trailer, if you guys like the story I'll continue, but if not then I'll probably leave it up as a one-shot. Tell me what you think, also check out my first completed story **_Best Friends Together Forever_. **Read, Enjoy, Review. **

Left, left, right, left, right, right. My mind was focused on going further into the new passage way if found. It was concealed behind the podium in the Grand Hall, where my mom gives the welcome back speech.

I was wondering the halls of the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Yes, that "snobby, rich kid" school located in Roseville, Virginia. I guess if you're reading this report though, then you know that the exceptional in Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, means for spies, and that you must have at _least_ level four clearance.

I squished a spider that crawled on my arm, and pressed forward. I had been in here for 45 minutes and 39 seconds. My mom was busy getting ready for the arrival of new students, and the return of old ones. I, like usual, had come back from Nebraska early, and was exploring the halls of the academy. In my five years of attending Gallagher, I had uncovered almost all the passageways, no blueprints, no nothing.

The hall was getting narrower, and the ceiling lower. I was forced to crouch on my hands and knees. Thankfully, the passageway opened up after 15 feet. I crawled through the small space and stood up. I was in an empty room, no larger than a small office nook. The only thing in the room was a small lever. It was probably the way out. I shook the dust off my uniform, and walked over to the lever. With a quick thrust, I pulled the lever down, and the south wall slid to the side slightly. I walked through the opening, and found my self in the C&A classroom (Culture and Assimilation).

Brushing more of the cobwebs out of my hair and uniform, I left the C&A classroom, and ran face first into someone

"Oh, my gosh," I stammered, I know I'm a spy and all, but I've been kind of off this semester, due to a certain assassin/spy boy that just happens to go to Blackthorn.

"Bloody hell, watch where you're going," the person I hit said.

"Bex!" I yelled, engulfing one of my best friends and roommates in a hug.

"Cammie!" She yelled in response, her British accent thick, due to spending her summer with her parents in England. Then she got a confused look on her face, "Cam, why where you in the C&A classroom?" She inquired. Crap.

"Oh my mom wanted me to find Madame Dabney, and I though she would be in there," I lied easily. Hey, when you're a spy, you learn that lying has to come easily to you, or well, you die.

"Now that I'm here, the party can really start," said a voice from behind us. I turned around and was faced with a girl with a huge diamond nose ring, combat boots, and two hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Macey!" Bex and I yelled. We ran and tackled her into a hug, sending all three of us sprawling onto the floor. I was the first to recover, and was on my feet again in 4.2 seconds. Impressive, I know.

"Oopsie Daisy," We heard a light southern bell sound behind us. Following that was a large crash that sounded like a photo frame breaking. Only one person could do that.

"Hi guys," Liz said, we all gave her light hugs, seeing as she looked more like a ripe tomato than a person at the moment. She noticed us staring and said, "Don't ask, it's a long story evolving a book, _lots_ of tanning oil, and a paper cut." I rolled my eyes, then laughed, poor, accident prone Liz.

"I missed you guys so much, scaling fish in Nebraska isn't _nearly_ as exciting as it sounds." I said, sarcasm dripping in my voice. We started walking to our room, which was on a separate floor, talking about our summers and what we did.

"So, Cammie," Bex said, with an evil grin on her face, "did a certain _Blackthorn boy_ contact you over the summer?"

"No Bex," I retorted curtly, "why should I care, it's not a big deal, _we're not even together_." I spoke as convincingly as I could, but nothing fools a Gallagher Girl, _especially_ a Baxter.

"You know you like him," Bex cooed. We reached our room and plopped our bags down onto our beds. We had the same room as we did last year (thank you mom) so everything was already figured out.

"Whatever Bex," I said waving her off. Bex was about to continue when Liz interrupted her.

"Come on guys, we just got here, leave Cammie alone." Have I ever mentioned how much I love Liz? No? Well, I super duper love Liz. I sent her a thankful look, and she just nodded her head.

"Whatever you say Lizzie, but we all know you've been dying to see a certain Blackthorn nerd, that you had your eye on last semester." Bex said while grinning. Liz blushed a brighter red, if that was even possible due to her severe sunburn.

"Bex," I started, "We all know you long for the idiot who calls you 'British Bombshell', don't deny it, we all know you like him." Bex glared at me, and opened her mouth when Macey spoke.

"You," she said, "are all hopeless." She lied down on her bed and started flipping through her latest edition of Vogue magazine.

"Cam, it's okay to like Zach, it's not a big deal, I mean he did kiss you," Bex started.

"I, in no way, shape, or form," I said, "am attracted to Zachary Goode." Bex just rolled her eyes. Hey! That's my thing! Then she shook her head, and continued unpacking her clothes.

I checked the time when I was finished unpacking my clothes. "Guys," I said, waking them from their trances, "we got to go, the welcome back dinner starts in a few." The girls nodded, and followed me out the door. Macey and Bex had changed into their uniforms, and so did Liz, but not after putting on some of Dr. Fibbs "Burn Be Gone." She was back to her normal skin color, although a tiny bit more tan, you wouldn't be able to notice unless you were, I don't know, a spy maybe? Perhaps.

Bex, Macey, Liz and I sat in a row in the Grand Hall. My mom was reciting the Gallagher Oath, and started the welcomes and announcements. I wasn't really paying attention; I was more focused on the room that I found earlier today. When you're a spy, you learn that every thing has a purpose; _everything_. I tuned back in around the end of the announcements.

"As you all know, last year, the Blackthorn Boys came here to the Gallagher Academy, to learn with you and develop better relationships with you," the last part of that earned a lot of murmuring among the girls, "I am slightly excited, and displeased to tell you this, but, this year, the Blackthorn Boys will be returning for the rest of the year, while their school is being rebuilt. A certain accident in their Chem. Labs left the school uninhabitable. Please welcome the Blackthorn Boys."

Just like last year, they boys strutted into the Grand Hall, and forks and mouths dropped. I just rolled my eyes. I had expected something like this to happen. My mom had been extra secretive the past few weeks, and that's when you know something's up. I didn't even look up to acknowledge their presence. I heard three sets of footsteps behind me. After the footsteps stopped, I felt a presence on my right side, but I just continued to look down and eat my soup.

When I looked up to see who was sitting next to me, it wasn't whom I was expecting.

"Um, Grant, why are you sitting next to me?" I asked.

"Well," he started, "I can't sit next to my British Bombshell, because you're sitting next to her, so this is as close as I can get. Oh, and nice to see you too Cammie." I rolled my eyes, and looked around. I saw Jonas sitting next to Liz, and found the third pair of footsteps. It was one of the guys who came last year. He was sitting next to Tina Walters. I scanned the room for a head of shaggy brown hair, and emerald green eyes. I found no one. No one noticed me looking though, I'm a spy what do you expect?

Dinner passed quickly, with the girls gossiping about the guys, me being constantly pounded with questions by Tina Walters, and Bex and Grant loudly flirting. Eventually, Macey and I got fed up with them and decided to leave. I sat down on my bed, and groaned. I wasn't tired at all, and lights out wasn't for another hour.

"Macey I'm bored, give me something to do." I complained. I know, I don't usually complain, but I was _seriously _bored, like out of my freaking mind.

"I could give you a make over," Macey said shrugging. I shuddered.

"Nevermind, I'm going out." I said, pulling on my shoes. She just shrugged and continued reading her magazine.

I wandered around the school for the good part of an hour. When I realized that it was time for lights out, I decided that I was going back to that room I found today. There was something pulling me there, that I couldn't quite place. That room was special, I know for sure there's something there, but I'm not entirely sure what it is. I snuck into the Grand Hall and went up to the podium where my mom gives the speeches.

I ran my hand over the sleek wood, looking for the small nick in it. I found it after 1 minute and 43 seconds of looking. I dug my thumbnail into the small crevice and a trap door opened up next to the podium. I put my foot on the ladder and started to climb down. When I reached the bottom, it was pitch dark, I couldn't see a thing. Luckily, I didn't have to rely on just my sight.

I walked about ten yards into the tunnel, when I heard footsteps behind me. I got into fighting stance, like we learned in P&E. The last thing I was expecting was that cocky, annoying voice saying:

"Hey Gallagher Girl."


	2. Introductions

**Sorry about the long wait, I've had double soccer practice and a stupidly large amount of homework. Like my history teacher assigned a five-paragraph essay due the next day. So ya, sorry about not updating sooner, but after this weekend my double practices will end, but I can't guarantee that the updates will come any sooner. I'll try my best though. I want to thank everyone for reviewing and making this a favorite story. You have no idea how much it means to me. Anyways, this chapter is mostly a filler, but the next one is going to be better. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"What are you doing here Zach?" I inquired immediately, not letting my surprise show.

"Well," he fake pondered, "my school blew up in an explosion, and the Blackthorn Boys are supposed to be staying here. Seeing as I _am_ a Blackthorn Boy…well, you're smart Gallagher Girl, you put the pieces together." Zach smirked and stepped closer to me.

I was still in my fighting position. He kept on approaching me, but I held my ground. _You wanna play games Zachary_ I thought to myself _well let the games begin_. He was right in front of me now, and he began to lift up his hand. Quick as a flash, I turned and sprinted down the tunnel. I heard a faint chuckle, then soft footsteps following after me. I took the same path I did earlier that leads to the C&A classroom. As I kept on going the footsteps got softer and softer. Either Zach was loosing weight rapidly, or I was loosing him.

A few feet later, the footsteps disappeared entirely, and I was forced onto my hands and knees. I crawled as fast as I could through the small space, and then lunged into the room I was in before. I stood up and stretched, taking in my surroundings; careful to make sure I truly was alone this time. Sighing in relief, I pulled on the lever and the door opened.

I slipped through the opening, and felt a hand clamp over my mouth, and the other one pull me back by my waist. I countered the person's weight and flipped them over my head. A sicken _crack_ followed. I heard the person curse in Farsi. Wait. Farsi? Crap.

"God Gallagher Girl," Zach moaned on the ground, while clutching his left arm. It was bent at an odd angle, and I knew for sure it was broken.

"Well, that's what you get for sneaking up on me," I whispered harshly to him, seeing as it was after curfew. I heard footsteps coming our way and I firmly clamped my hand over his mouth and pulled the lever, sealing the door. Zach licked my hand. I shot him a glare and poked his broken arm. He winced, and I knew it was a cruel gesture, but you do _not_ lick a girl's hand when they are trying to save your sorry butt. The footsteps retreated and I pulled my hand a way from Zach's mouth.

"You," I stated, "are one of the most foul beings to walk this Earth. You know that?" I glared at him some more.

"Ha-ha, love you too Gallagher Girl," Zach said while smirking. Wait. What?

"Ya, whatever, we should probably get your arm checked out, you know, since I kind of broke it when I though you were going to try to kill me. Ring a bell?" I said sarcastically, while rolling my eyes.

"Wow, my ego is hurt Gallagher Girl, you don't love me back?" Zach asked jokingly, but I heard the hint of honesty in his voice. It was faint, but still there.

"It's not that, it's just that I want the first time someone says they love me to not be sarcastic, or while smirking." I said honestly. He smirked. Again. Gosh dang-it one day I'm going to get a sewing kit, and sew his mouth shut, or just in a permanent frown so he can't smirk. Note to self: add sewing Zach's mouth shut to torture list.

"Well that isn't very nice, if you sew my mouth shut, then you can never hear my wondrous voice ever again." Zach said smirking again. Whoops, I guess I said that aloud.

"Well, you should be heading to the nurse anyways," I said totally ignoring his previous comment.

"You aren't coming with me?" he asked, "You are the one who broke it in the first place."

"Nope," I said popping the "p" I winked at him and ran off out of the C&A classroom. I heard Zach chuckling behind me and saying "Same old Gallagher Girl." I rolled my eyes and kept on running to the right. Stopping by an old tapestry of the Gallagher family tree, I pulled it aside and stepped into the black passageway. I followed the strait path that leads to my room.

Quietly pushing open the hatch that opened right in front of my room, I silently slipped through. I opened the door and felt something placed on my head. I was out like a light.

"So, Cameron Ann Morgan," I heard a voice say next to me, I was groggy from the napotine patch, but I could make out that the voice was feminine. Only after did I realize that my hands were bound behind my back, and I was tied to a chair. These people must be experts because there's absolutely no way for me to escape. Trust me, one time in CoveOps Mr. Solomon had us practice tying each other to chairs so that they couldn't get out, if they did get out then you failed.

"Would you like to tell us where you were last night?" The voice continued. It sounded so familiar, but slightly altered.

"And why would I tell you that?" I retorted snarly.

"Well, that's classified my friend," said a new voice, also feminine. Okay I definitely know these people.

"Well so is this." It probably wasn't a good idea to provoke these people, but, hey, I have no idea what I'm saying.

"Just tell us Cameron!" The second voice said irritated. I rolled my eyes, but I was dark so I doubt they could see me do it, "I saw that Cameron! Don't you dare roll your eyes at me." I chuckled silently; it was fun making these people mad.

"So, what's the deal here, are you going to torture me? Question me? What?" I responded cockily, _Note to self: stop hanging out with Zach_.

"GOSH D-" The second voice stated.

"Guys!" A new voice interrupted, "give her a break, she's probably still groggy from the napotine."

Ahh, now I get it. "Did you guys really have to tie me to a chair to ask where I was last night? Oh, and thank you Lizzie."

"Yes, it was Cameron," The first voice answered, a.k.a Bex. "If we didn't you'd just make up some lame excuse and then go to sleep or some bloody piece of crap like that."

"Ya, your probably right," I said after thinking about it.

"So, where were you?" Macey asked.

"If you really want to know, I went for a walk like I said, and then went to explore the new secret passage I found." I said bluntly. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the _entire _truth.

"Ha-ha, very funny Cameron, so what else happened?" Bex interrogated.

"Nothing." I lied, "Absolutely nothing, I realized it was past curfew and then came back here. I _thought_ you'd be sleeping that's why I opened the door quietly."

"I know you're lying Cameron Ann Morgan, but I can't have you coming to classes tomorrow with a bruised and bloody face, because I need something to work with tomorrow. But, don't be fooled, we _will _find out what happened." Macey threatened. I felt the restraints on my wrist being undone and I rubbed them cautiously. There were harsh red marks on them. _That's going to need some ointment in the morning_ I joked to myself.

Liz cut me free of the chair and I plopped down into bed. I was finally aware of the fatigue that the night had caused me. My eyelids felt heavy and they slowly began to close. I drifted off into sleep, unaware of the events that were to follow the next day.

You know waking up to a screaming Bex is never fun. I heard her screaming and ranting about something totally pointless. A little after, Macey joined in and it was double trouble. Finally, I got so fed up that I threw my pillow at them. The one problem with going to a school for spies is that you _can _throw things at people, but chances are that they'll throw them back just as hard, if not harder. That's exactly what Bex did. The pillow hit me in the head and I was knocked out of bed. Just a great way to start the day.

"Bex," I whined, "shut up already. It's," I checked my internal clock, "7:30. Wait. 7:30. Crap! We got to go." I flung myself off the floor, and jumped into my uniform. This year was black and grey plaid skirt and a white blouse with the Gallagher crest. Macey and Bex were already dressed, and Liz was putting on her shoes by the time I was completely ready to go.

"Let's roll girls, big day ahead, the first day of classes, and I've finally caught up to my grade level," announced Macey, with a tone of satisfaction.

We reached the grand hall at 8:02. Yes it only takes us half an hour to get ready. I know we're some kind of super girls. Luckily we weren't late and we sat down normally. For the new seventh graders today's language was English (American). Our chef prepared Belgium waffles with hash browns and loads of other stuff. I think it's safe to say there wasn't a scrap of food left on that table when we were done.

"Where are the boys?" I heard Anna Fetterman ask. _Hmm, that's a good question_ I thought to myself. Where are they? As if right on cue, the Blackthorn Boys burst through the double doors. Zach, Jonas, Grant, and the kid who was talking to Tina last night came and sat down by us.

"What? No food for us?" Zach asked tauntingly, "We're living with a bunch of pigs." He smirked. He put his broken arm around my shoulder and I gave him a death glare.

"What happened to the arm Goode?" Macey asked.

Zach smirked, "That's for m-"

"Zach got his ass beat by a girl!" Grant shouted out loudly while laughing. I laughed to myself knowing that it was me who kicked his sorry excuse for a butt.

"And what's so wrong about being beat by a girl?" Bex asked Grant threateningly.

"Um-erm- uh, no-nothing is wr-wrong with that." Grant stuttered. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"So who is this chick, I got to go give her my props." Said Macey.

"Little _Zachy_ here won't tell us," said Grant pointing a thumb over at Zach. I saw Zach's fist clench at the name Zachy.

"Oh I know who broke his arm," I said. I looked over at him and he gave me a "do it, I dare you" look. I just stole his smirk in return.

"And how would you know that Cammie," The new boy asked. Creepy, he knows my name.

"First off, how do you know my name? And secondly, who the heck are you?" I asked him.

"Well, based on the goo-goo eyes he's giving you whenever you turn away, that you're the girl Cammie he's always talking about. He also calls you Gallagher Girl almost 24/7. It also doesn't help that he won't shut up about you at night, and no he isn't conscious while talking about you at night." I looked over at Zach, and his face was red and he looked like he was going to beat the living daylights out of the new kid. "I'm Tyler by the way. I got stuck with these hopeless souls this year for bunking. Can you believe my luck?" He said the last part sarcastically.

"Well, anyways, like I was saying before, I know who broke Zach's arm because I broke Zach's arm. I was exploring this new passage I found last night and he suck up behind me so I flipped him and broke it." I said smugly. Bex looked like she was going to cry from holding in her laughter. The boys weren't so kind. They burst like a dam and Zach just glared at all of them, his knuckles almost white.

"I hate you all." Zach said.

"I know you _love _us Zachy," I repeated his petty nickname. He tried, and failed, to glare at me, and that just made the boys snicker more. I stuck my tongue out at him like the mature adult I am. He mouth opened, as if he was going to say something but was interrupted.

His interruption was caused the one and only Joe Solomon bursting through the doors of the grand hall. He spoke two words, but they made all the difference to me. This is going to be fun.

"Pop quiz."


	3. Let The Games Begin

**Sorry about not updating sooner, it's been really hectic with school. Also, I've been having some major writer's block with this story, I know where I want it to go, but I'm having trouble setting it up so that it happens. Sorry again, I'm also working on the sequel to my story Best Friends Together Forever, but I'm going to try to update more frequently, but this story might be post-poned if I feel it's not going anywhere, or it might go really fast and get right to where I was planning on going in the first place. Anyways, sorry about not updating. I'll try to be better. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

Bex, Macey, Liz, and I all sped up to our room and threw on normal clothes. I slipped into a white v-neck shirt; jean shorts with a brown weave belt, and black vans. I put my hair up into a tight bun and slipped out into the hall. Perfect for fighting and blending. It was CoveOps, you were going to have to expect the unexpected.

The others were still getting ready by the time I reached the doors that lead out of Gallagher. Of course I knew there were other ways to get out, I had used them when I was dating Josh. Josh. I still think about him sometimes, but he's taken now. It didn't matter anymore though, he was given the tea, and I've been forbidden from seeing him anymore. Blah, blah, blah. I've heard this speech a thousand times.

The rest of the girls arrived a couple minutes later. Some of the girls were wearing similar things to me: easy to move in, easy to blend in. Other whose names are classified, however, were wearing excessive amounts of make-up, and their hair looked like it went through a washing machine…that exploded afterward.

"Bloody hell Tina, what happened to your hair?" Bex asked in between laughs.

"What happened to your face Baxter? Wait that's how you always look." Tina responded with a confident smirk. Don't get the wrong idea here. Gallagher girls love each other; we annoy the heck out of each other, but love us all the same. We'd never do anything to hurt another sister.

"I'll give you that one Walters," Bex said giving Tina a high-five. The rest of us laughed at the two and I just rolled my eyes while chuckling.

"Such a touching moment ladies, but I believe we have more important matters to attend to at the moment." Mr. Solomon interrupted.

"Where are the Blackthorn boys?" Anna Fetterman asked.

"Thank you Ms. Fetterman for being the only person here who took that into account. What did I tell you ladies on your first day of Covert Operations?" Mr. Solomon asked.

Like a robot, we all responded, "Notice things."

"_Notice things._" He repeated for us, "you have failed to notice the obvious, whether it slipped your mind that they are living with us now, or if you were just being lazy, it is unacceptable. These kind of simple mistakes can get you killed in the spy world."

We all looked down at the ground, clearly ashamed, but Bex was the first to speak up.

"So, are you going to tell us our mission and where they are, or are we just going to stand here all day." Bex spoke. Ah, Bex always strait to the point.

"Today, we will be going into town, your job is to find the boys. They all have been placed at a secret location." Eva Alverez began to raise her hand, but was cut off by Mr. Solomon, "Yes, Ms. Alverez, they are all together. I will meet you at the location. If you do not make it there, within half an hour, without your tails, then you have failed, and your consequence will be delivered immediately. Good luck ladies, see you in half an hour. Your time begins when you step out of the van."

I blinked and Mr. Solomon disappeared. He truly is one of the best.

"Well come on ladies," Said Mrs. Dabney, who suddenly appeared in place of Mr. Solomon, "You heard the man, you have half an hour and you don't want to be late do you? Now, to the vans, with you." We all sprinted to the vans and were driven into town.

Time. We had so little to do the impossible. Solomon asked us to lose a tail in thirty minutes. _Thirty freaking minutes_. Not even the best can do that. We exited the van, and our internal timers kicked in. I grabbed Bex by the hand and we began our quest. I spotted my tail almost immediately.

"You know Bex," I started, "I really need a new _pink_ shirt, and maybe some new sunglasses. The ones my mom bought me last Christmas broke last time we went to the _ice-cream_ shop and you accidentally stepped on them." Bex looked over at me and gave me a subtle nod.

"Ya, I have to get some things too. I was thinking of getting a new pair of _boots_ from the _shoe _store and maybe we could meet up later and get some _coffee_." Bex responded, using the same code. She basically said that her tail was wearing boots, by the shoe store holding a coffee. I said a quick goodbye and sped away. Fifteen minutes. _Think Cammie_ I told myself; _you're a Gallagher Girl. This is Roseville, how many places could Solomon think of doing a CoveOps assignment. Okay, so half an hour; that means that the location must be close. If I were Solomon, and I was designing a CoveOps assignment, where would I put it?_

I pondered about this for a couple of minutes, when I bumped into something. More like someone. What kind of spy am I? Oh this wasn't going to end well.

"Cammie?" the person asked, "is that you?"

"Erm, um, hi Josh, wha-what are you doing here?" I stuttered. I mentally slapped myself. Since when do I stutter?

"Oh, I'm on my break, was going to go get some coffee, want to join me?" Josh asked giving me a silly grin. Man, how I missed that grin. It's not super annoying like a _certain_ person's smirk.

"Um, well, I-I can't, um, at least, not, um, not now," I said while lowering my face, so I wouldn't have to make contact.

"Oh well, we'll have to catch up soon. Call me next time you come into town. I'd really like to talk to you again." He wrote his number on a little slip of paper he had in his pocket and handed it to me. I opened my mouth to say something, but words weren't forming, and I was completely hopeless. No Zach to save me this time.

"Um, sure," I took the number from his hand and hastily shoved it in my pocket. Checking the time with my internal timer I realized that I only had five minutes to get to the location where I was supposed to meet Solomon.

"Look, Josh, I really have to go. Um, I guess I'll see you around." I turned away and began running. Not very covert if you ask me. But as I was running a way, I heard Josh say, "Ya, sure, see you." I heard the disappointment and hurt in his voice, and it broke my heart. Even if I'm not into him anymore, no one deserves to be that unhappy.

I made quick turns and changed directions constantly, after about four minutes I lost my tail. One minute to make it. One minute. The clock was ticking down, and I barely made it into the location with two seconds to spare.

"Close, Ms. Morgan, very, _very_ close. I expect more from you, but seeing as only you Ms. Baxter, Ms. Alverez, Ms. Fetterman, and Ms. Walters were able to lose your tails within the designated amount of time and make it to this location, you have passed."

"Really Solomon," I asked, "Paint ball? Really?" Mr. Solomon just donned an evil grin and gestured to the Blackthorn boys in waiting.

"Hiya Gallagher Girl," Zach said while smirking at me.

"Not in the mood Goode," I responded while glaring at him, "Oh, how's the arm by the way?" I added while stealing his smirk. He glared in return.

"Seeing as only five of you were able to make it here in time, and figure out where we were going to play. It will be you five versus the Blackthorn Boys."  
>"What!" We all screamed. This was completely and totally unfair!<p>

"This is completely and totally unfair Solomon!" Bex screamed. I saw Zach smirking and I felt my anger rising.

"In the spy world, you must learn to work as a team Ms. Baxter. Life isn't fair. If one of you cannot complete the mission, sometimes your team suffers the consequence." Mr. Solomon responded calmly. Bex was pissed, no beyond that. She was going to deliver hell.

"Awww," Zach cooed, "are the _wittle _Gallagher Girls afraid of being beaten." Oh, it's on.

"Solomon hand me a gun," Bex and I said at the same time.

"Good luck." Mr. Solomon said to the boys. We put on our gear and readied our guns. Oh these boys were in for it now. When you have five pissed off Gallagher Girls, you're going to want to run for the hills and then some.

"You know," Zach said coming up behind me, "you guys don't stand a chance." He smirked and I blew a fuse.

"You know what Zachary Goode, you are so freaking dead. I will demolish you, and then stomp on your ashes. After that, I will call Bex so she can be _Bex._" He cringed a little bit at that last part. You don't want me to unleash Bex on you. _That _is _never _fun. I came up with a quick plan to bug him. What? When given the opportunity, one must take advantage of it. He already thinks I'm pissed at him, well I kind of am, but anyways. I gave Zach a good clap to the head, making sure my hand went through his hair. He didn't suspect a thing, because the bug was Liz's new prototype, than can only be detected with a very, very big magnifying glass.

"Listen up," Mr. Solomon said, "Your goal of this game is to be last one standing. You're shot, you're dead. This is what real life is going to be like. No mistakes. Ladies, I expect you to win. You can use any spy tactics you want, we have rented this entire facility. This game will go on until there is one player standing. No stopping. When I give the signal, you begin." He disappeared and shooed us into the training room.

The room was huge. Basically, it was a portion of a forest enclosed; there were plenty of large trees and rocks to hide behind. It was a chameleon's best friend.

I gathered the girls, and passed them out the comms unit that Solomon had granted us. We sped off in separate directions. We were all in different locations within the boundaries, but still close enough that if one us were to get into a sticky situation, we could come in as reinforcements. I was hidden in a tree, about a hundred yards from the main gate.

"GO!" I heard Solomon yell.

Let the games begin.


	4. Revealed

Revealed

It was fifteen Blackthorn boys against five Gallagher girls. Our odds were not looking bright, but I had faith in my sisters, plus after what Zach said I was _not_ going to lose this. The cocky little butt face spy boy thinks he can do whatever he wants, well he's about to get a big slap in the face from reality. They think their masculinity made them all high and mighty, when really it just made the act like tools. Zach in particular. After that day in DC he thinks he can beat me in anything, but he's about to get proven wrong. Speaking of, Zach's been acting strange, well stranger than normal. He's been even _more_ mysterious. I have no idea how that's even possible. That boy remains a mystery to even the best of spies, but today, he was going down.

I jumped from tree to tree, keeping a lookout for idiot boys hiding in open space. Sometimes I wonder why these boys are spies, most of them are completely incompetent. I saw my first victim beneath me. It was that new kid, Tyler. Aw, he seemed so smart, guess I was wrong. I crouched down in a squatting position, placing my gun in the aiming position. That's when I heard the cracking. The branch I was on was breaking. Tyler heard it too. His head snapped up and he spotted me in the tree. Fumbling with his gun, he tried to shoot at me. Quick as lightning, I jumped from my place in the tree landing side by him. I heard him talking in his comms unit telling the other boys he was being attacked.

Before he was able to shoot me, I knocked his gun out of his hands. It scattered away from him, and he quickly recovered. His leg came up in a roundhouse kick and I was able to block it. However, he managed to break the shaft of my gun, snapping it in two. Now there was only one gun and two of us. I knew I had little time before more boys arrived and I was compromised. Tyler's arm came in for a punch, but I countered and swept his legs out from under him.

"I got to say Cammie, you're stronger than you look," he said while standing up. "I got to give you props, but you won't last much longer. You girls are out numbered, and this game isn't going to last as long as you think it is. I mean, you're _girls_." Oh when will they learn?

"You see Tyler," I said punching his right shoulder rendering it useless, "that's where you're wrong. Yes. We are girls, but the fact that you overlooked is that we're _Gallagher_ girls, and Gallagher girls always win." With that I flipped him over my shoulder into a tree, His ankle was sprained and he was clutching his shoulder. Taking my time, I picked up his gun and shot him in the stomach. One down, fourteen to go.

"Duchess, Chicka, Paparazzi, Bee, report." I said into my comms unit.

"Duchess checking in, I have compromised three enemy operatives."

"Chicka checking in, I have compromised two enemy operatives."

"Paparazzi checking in, I have compromised one enemy operative."

"Bee checking in, I have compromised one enemy operative."

"Good job girls, I got one, that's eight enemy operatives, meaning there's still seven to go. Keep it up, at this pace we'll be done by dinnertime. Duchess, is Sir Smirks a lot still live, he's mine." Do you like my name for him? I thought it was pretty creative.

"Smirks-a-lot is still active, he's all yours Chameleon, kick his cocky smirking butt." Bex said. I could hear the excitement in her voice at the thought of someone getting their butt kicked. Classic Bex.

Throwing Tyler's gun over my shoulder, I scurried up the tree, to get a better areal view of the field. I heard a rustle behind me, and noticed one of the boys in a tree far off to my right, his back was to me. An easy kill. I readied my gun and pulled the trigger. The paintball exploded on his back and he flew out of the tree. Landing on his face, I heard Mr. Solomon through my comms unit.

"Mr. Saxon and Mr. Perez, you are compromised. There are five boys left and five girls left, it's even now good luck. Also, Ms. Baxter, next time, one shot it doable, no need to leave them covered in paint. I thought Madame Dabney taught you better." Mr. Solomon said. Five on five, it's on.

I escaped back into the canopies. I found two more boys and quickly got them out of the game, one of the boys put up a pretty good fight. He was obviously in CoveOps for a reason. If Jonas hadn't stuck with him, he'd probably have done better, seeing as Jonas isn't supposed to be in CoveOPs anyways. I had few close calls, but eventually both of them were compromised.

"I'll give this to you Gallagher Girl, you're doing better than I thought," I heard through my comms.

"Ms. Alverez you have been compromised." Mr. Solomon said following shortly after.

"Watch your back Goode," I sneered into my comms. "I'm coming for you." He must've taken Eva's comms unit after he compromised her. This is not good; I can't communicate with my other operatives if he's in our system. This is not good, not good at all.

"I do enjoy a good challenge, even though you won't pose much as one." I could hear his smirk through the unit. This boy is asking for it I'm telling you.

"It's four against three, Zach, we outnumber you. We. Will. Win." I growled at him.

"That's what you think." What is he doing? What is he planning?

"Ms. Baxter, Ms. Walters, Ms. Fetterman, you have been compromised." What the hell?

"Zach what are you planning?" I nearly screamed at him through my comms unit.

"You see Gallagher Girl, you're making this too easy. Do you even want to know why you lasted this long? I haven't been playing. If I had do you seriously think that you five versus our fifteen could lasted longer than two seconds? We're trained for this kind of thing Gallagher Girl, we know _exactly_ what we're supposed to be doing and how to do it. It's four against one Gallagher Girl, who's outnumbered now?" He spoke cockily.

"No!" I screamed, not very smart when you're trying to blend in. I probably drew a whole lot of attention that I really did not need. I jumped out of the tree, landing softly on the balls of my feet. My spy senses were on full alert, seeing as I had just given away my position by yelling into my comms unit. "I refuse to lose. I. Will. Win!"

"Sure you will. Sure, but how when you're about to be compromised?" Zach said, not in my comms this time, but right in my ear. How could I have been so sloppy? I felt the end of the gun pointed into my back.

"What no fight? I thought you were better than that. What happened to the famous Chameleon that snuck out to have a secret boyfriend, the one that could blend in anywhere at any time? Where did she go?"

"She's right here Zach, and she's going to win." I quickly launched my leg back and hit him a place that is never fun for a boy to be hit. He crumpled over, but quickly recovered. His fist came up, and he tried to catch my face, I countered his hit and went for the roundhouse kick to his left temple. He caught my foot right before it made contact and flipped me so I was pinned on the ground with him on top of me. His fatal mistake was that he left a gap where I could escape. I caught his foot with mine and flipped us so that I was on top. I placed my knee on his chest and pinned his arms down with my hands. His paintball gun had been discarded earlier during our fight and lay beside the tree I had jumped down from.

I kneed him in the gut leaving him temporarily winded. I knew it would take him a couple of seconds to recover, because after sparring with Bex everyday for five years, you pick up a few easy ways to wind someone severely. I lunged for the gun and it was barely in my grasp when I felt a strong hand grasp my ankle. I kicked the hand and grabbed the gun. I expected it to be Zach's hand that was holding my ankle, but instead I saw a person I never thought I'd see again. His facial features were the same, and I could feel the fresh wound he had inflicted on me.

His face was still covered, but his burly calloused hands felt the same still. It was the man from the rooftop in Boston. He was here, which means that I'm not safe anymore.

"Solomon!" I screamed into my comms unit. Static. "Zach! Zach! It's them, we need to get out of here, find reinforcements! Zach we need to go!" I screamed at him. I was still fighting to get out of the man's grasp; I looked over and saw that Zach was dealing with his own problems at the moment, because Boston boy had some friends.

I somehow managed to get to my feet and I was now fighting three guys at once. Zach had knocked out two guys and they lay off to the side. He was currently taking on three more guys, just like me. We were alone, no one was coming to rescue us, and we were silent.

I managed to knock out two of the guys that were taking me on, but after I did the final guy pulled out a knife. He slashed at me, cutting deep gashes in my arm. I was loosing blood fast. The cut was in between my right elbow and my shoulder. Blood was seeping out fast, but the man kept on attacking me. I knew I couldn't last much longer, because I was already seeing spots. There must've been something on that knife that made me pass out. Probably the same technology that we use in napotine patches.

I collapsed to my knees. I was defeated, I couldn't battle any longer, I had lost too much blood. The man looked at me with a triumphant grin and slapped two nappotine patches on my forehead. I was blacking out, but as I did I saw that the two remaining guys fighting Zach stopped and stared at me. They left Zach completely alone, and grinned evil smiles at me. Zach's was the worst. He looked at me with his bright green eyes, for once though, they weren't the eyes of the boy that dipped and kissed me in my sophomore year; they were the eyes of a killer, for once he looked like an exact replica of his mother. He plastered his signature smirk on his face, though more sinister than cocky and spoke:

"Bye Gallagher Girl."


	5. Who are You?

**Sorry about not updating, I've been super busy. But i got a new laptop for Christmas so I can update more often :D. I should be more frequent, but do two chapters in two days make up for it? I hope so. Anyways. Read. Enjoy. Review. 3**

I felt the bumps. I felt all the bruises. I felt the anger. I felt the betrayal. I felt the heartbreak. I felt the numbness. I felt the sadness. I felt everything when I saw who Zachary Goode really was. The backstabbing, two-timing, person he really is. I saw his true colors shine bright. He was never on my side. He never like me, it was all a plan. A ploy. A lie. But what could I expect. In our business, you lie. You lie about your life, your parents, heck even your favorite color. In our business honesty is but a myth, a legend; heard of, but never true. And I was stupid enough to believe that it was. I was stupid enough to let someone in, to let my guard down and trust someone. That is one of the most important rules in being a spy: don't get attached. I broke that rule. I let myself believe that Zach was truly here to help me. He was here to find answers, to be here with me. But he never was. All those cryptic answers just to keep me from knowing the truth about his true character. I believed everything he said, trusted everything he did, felt everything he inflicted. Zachary Goode was no more than a traitor.

They had placed me in the back of a van. Whatever was in that knife and in those napotine patches caused my internal clock to go fuzzy. My perspective of distance was destroyed, and I had no idea about where I was. My head bounced on the hard floor sending a shooting pain though out my body each time my head hit the hard trunk. My arm was stinging, but not bleeding anymore. I had a feeling they didn't want me dying. Yet.

I heard muffed voices from the seats in front of me. There must have been at least four. I heard _his_ voice above all. It was the single bird chirp in the silent forest, the one thing that stood out beyond the others. It sounded different. Deeper, lustful, insane. Just hearing his voice made me question everything he had ever said to me. Everything he had ever said to anyone. It made me wonder how I could have ever trusted him in the first place. He was a backstabbing liar. He didn't care about me when we were in Boston or in Macey's train compartment, not even when I was attacked that September. He didn't care, he doesn't care, he never cared.

I began seeing spots again. My vision was going dark and soon after I passed out.

The next time I woke up, my hands were strapped to a chair and my feet were restrained. I could tell there was something around my neck keeping it firm against the back of the chair. I was able to turn my head from side to side, but looking down was impossible. Based on what I think the purpose of this room is I think that might be a good thing. If I can't see what they're doing to me, then maybe it won't hurt as much.

"Ah, Cameron, good to see you're awake. How are you feeling? I'm sorry about the rough pick up, but we knew that if we asked nicely you wouldn't come." An approaching figure said through the darkness.

"Good to semi-see you Mrs. Goode, tell me, how's your backstabbing user son? And I am extremely good as you can see being strapped to a chair and all, although I could be better." I dripped sarcasm when speaking to her. Although being strapped to a _freaking chair_ that probably wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had.

"OH! He's just wonderful. You know you gave him quite the trouble trying to get you here. As for the chair I do apologize, its just protocol. Now, if you corporate, this will go by quite smoothly, but if not, then this might take a while. So, what is your name" Mrs. Goode questioned me.

"Tiffany St. James." I replied snottily.

"My, my Cameron can't even answer the simplest of questions. I asked you nicely to corporate, now please, I don't want to hurt you, but if it comes to that, I won't hesitate to. Now, I ask you again, what is your name."

"I'm sorry but I told you already. My name is Tiffany St Ja-" Before I could even finish my sentence, Mrs. Goode swiftly brought her hand across my face. The smarting feeling of the slap left my cheek feeling stingy and prickly.

"Cameron, stop being difficult, I know you can answer this question! This is not rocket science, although I doubt that would be much of a challenge, unless Gallagher is dumbing down lately. So I ask you once more: what is your name."

I sighed; this will get violent very fast. I best not anger her, I can tell that there are definitely going to questions where her patients will wear thin with me not answering. I better keep her in a good mood while I can.

"Cammie." I replied.

"Full name." she growled in response.

"Cameron." _Slap_.

"Now, I know you know what I want, and I know you don't want to get hurt or hurt those close to you. Now you will answer my questions in full or you _will _be punished."

"Thank you Alex Trebek, would you like me to answer it in the form of a question as well." I replied sarcastically, "also, isn't being here punishment enough."

"Damn it Cameron answer the question!" Mrs. Goode screamed at me.

"What is Cameron Ann Morgan." I replied smirking. That earned me another slap.

"Listen to me Morgan," Oooh, we're on last name basis now are we. "I don't want any of your _sass _because personally I could care less about you. If you didn't have valuable information then you would be as good as dead to me right now. To make it even better I bet my son would be more than happy to do it for me. And trust me, he has been trained to make it slow and painful, so either oblige to our demands or you can kiss your pathetic little life goodbye." Her face was right in front of mine so that her nose was touching mine. So (naturally) I spat in her face.

"YOU dirty little UGH I can't believe you!" Mrs. Goode screamed. Angry, Mrs. Goode stormed over to a table that was set up by the door. She promptly picked up a knife and brought it over to where I stationed. Knife in hand, she struck my face leaving a deep cut. I could feel the blood dripping into my mouth. The metallic taste didn't settle well with my stomach, and I immediately spat it out.

She continued slashing the knife everywhere. New cuts appeared on my legs, thighs, both my arms, my other cheek, and my back. My entire outfit was covered in blood, and I was barely staying conscious. Everything was bleeding and Mrs. Goode's satisfied smirk was painted on her face.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to me when I ask you a question. I hope you learned your lesson. Oh but don't worry, we're far from done here. So here's how this is going to go," Sauntering back to the table, Mrs. Goode picked up a clear vile filled with liquid and brought it over for me to see. "This is alcohol. My boss told me that I couldn't hurt you to the extent that it could cause you to die. So I have to keep you in a decent condition. So, this is torture slash doctoring. Each time you refuse to answer a question or answer with what I think is a lie, then I'll put this into your cuts. Won't this just be dandy?" She seemed way too excited about this. I mean, it take a seriously messed up person to think that putting alcohol on cuts would be fun.

"Ready? Okay, What do you know about the Athens mission assigned to Joe Solomon and Mathew Morgan?" The Athens mission? The one that Mr. Solomon wrote about in his journal? Why is she asking about this, shouldn't _he _have told her everything in there?

"I know just about as much as you, unless there's something _you'd _like to tell me." I sneered at her. I attempted to fight against my bonds, key word attempted. I was so weak from the loss of blood that I could barely keep my eyes open. The metal dug into my skin leaving what I'm sure will be an angry rash.

All of a sudden my arm lit up, like it was on fire. It felt like someone was spraying fire into one of the cuts that Mrs. Goode had inflicted on me previously. My eyes opened up wide, but I remained silent. I refuse to give her the satisfactory that she is hurting me. She cannot and will not break me.

"Dearest Cameron, I asked you to cooperate. Now, what do you know?" Mrs. Goode persisted.

I somehow managed to gasp out, "Like I said, I know no more than you do."

My vision was going fuzzy, and the room was beginning to spin.

"You've had enough…for today. GAURDS!" The witch shouted, "take her to her cell. Let her get acquainted with _him_." She sneered the last word, like just the saying his gender was vinegar in her mouth. Who was "he" anyways?

My eyes began to close, but I was able to stay awake until they threw me into my cell. Literally, threw me. I landed on my back and my head crashed against the floor. I felt the cool cement pressing against my ear. Suddenly, a pair of arms lifted me up and placed me against the side of the cell. I was sitting up right. This must be the boy that Mrs. Goode was talking about, the one who was going to be my cellmate. I managed to open my eyes wide enough to see what I could in the darkness. The cell was no larger than an office cubical. I could only see a faint outline of the person. He was obviously male; I would've been able to tell even without Mrs. Goode telling me. He looked to be in pretty good condition for being held prisoner. He had broad shoulders, but they held little muscle due to the malnutrition that comes with being held captive.

"It's okay," he said, his voice smooth like velvet. "They won't hurt you in here. What's your name?" He looked at me, and I was able to see that his eyes were sterling green, exactly like _his_. The traitor's. The liar's. The backstabber's.

"Ca-ca-cam-cameron." I was able to sputter out. "Who are you?" I rasped.

"My name is Zachary Goode."


	6. I Can't Trust You

No You Can't

Right after he said his name I passed out from blood loss. Sleep was no escape from the torture that is my life though. I dreamt about the good times, but all of them were filled with _him_. I don't know what to believe anymore, for all I know he even lied about his name. He might not even be Zach Goode if the guy in my cell was telling the truth. I don't know who or what to believe, everyone is lying to me, especially those closet to me.

I woke up several times while sleeping. Each time, I awoke screaming, then bursting into tears. The worst part; each time I did he came and comforted me. He smoothed my hair back and held me to his chest. I was too weak to do anything about it; I couldn't push him away and I could tell him to let me go or leave me alone. I was fried. I drifted in and out of slumber for hours. The final time I awoke, I felt barely better than when I first passed out. The difference this time, I didn't wake up screaming. He was still there though. He had his arms wrapped around my body and was mumbling things into my hair.

"Wha-wha-what are you doing?" I managed to make out.

"Shhh, don't talk, they'll be back to check to see if you're awake soon, if they find you are, then they'll take you back for more questioning. Based on how you came back, I bet you don't want to get back." Zach (or whatever his name is) whispered to me.

"I need answers," I squeaked out. I felt him stir underneath me, shifting his weight so that I was facing him instead of leaning on him. My eyes were barely open, but I could see his intense green eyes looking directly at me.

"I'll tell you everything, just be quite, _now_." He hissed at me. I heard the latch on the heavy medal door to our cell open. A heavy stepping figure carried them self into the cell.

"She awake yet Goode?" A gruff voice asked. I felt Zach shake beneath me. I could tell he was saying no by the vibrations he was sending. What? I'm a Gallagher Girl this was first year body language. We had to learn to read vibrations sent off by the body.

"If she doesn't wake up your mom is going to be as good as dead, aren't you lucky?" The guard laughed darkly and slammed the metal door shut.

"They've been doing hourly checks to see if you're awake or not, guess they're spending you no mercy." Zach chuckled, I don't even know if that's his real name.

"Who are you?" I asked, "Also, why should I believe anything you say, if you are 'Zachary Goode' then Zachary Goode is a backstabbing, traitor, liar, and I can't trust anything he says. He lied to me, got me captured and because of him, or you, or whoever the heck! I'm trapped here being tortured for I don't even know what!" I got enough strength to push him away. I crawled away to the opposite side of the cell that he was one. Placing my head onto my knees, I began to sob quietly. Not quietly enough I guess.

"I don't exactly know what happened to you before you got placed in here, but I can guarantee you that it wasn't me who did those things to you." Zach crawled over to me. He just sat next to me, not saying anything, just sitting leaving me to my thoughts. That's not always a good thing though. This conversation left me thinking about all the times that "Zach" and I had together, all the things we had spent together, and lastly the kiss. The first kiss we had in my junior year when he dipped me and then left.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for anything _he _did to you, for anything _she_ did to you. For everything, but I can tell you that you're going to get out of here and everything is going to be fine." Zach placed a caring hand on my shoulder.

"Who really are you?" I looked over at him. More light was able to come into our cell and I could see what he really looked like. He was an exact replica of whoever was at Gallagher with me. The only difference was that his eyes were older, more worn. He looked like he had seen more than any person our age should see, just like me. He also had a jagged scar running down his left eye, behind his ear and down his neck. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and I could scars and bruises running up and down his arms.

"Pretty bad, isn't it?" He asked me. I hadn't even realized I was staring at him. I was too astonished to answer, so I just nodded my head 'yes'. "Ya, my wonderful mother did this to me. Her and my wonderful brother. They're just- I don't like talking about it."

"You never answered my question." I told him. He just looked over at me and gave me a lopsided grin. It was a shock to me. It wasn't the annoyingly scaring smirk that _he_ used to give me. No, this was a genuine smile, with happiness in it's intent.

"Pushy pushy." He taunted back, "if you must know, I am Zachary Goode, you already know my mother, obviously, and I didn't really know my dad so, ya. I have a brother. I've been in this cell for god knows how long, I lost track after four years. I was put in here because I didn't agree with what my mother was doing and I wanted out. Needless to say I got caught, but for being only what nine or ten at the time, I thought I got pretty far. I was put in this cell and then here we are. It's not much of a life but, still."

I looked at him. I saw the scars; I saw the weary look in his eyes. Why was he keeping things from me? Did he not trust me? Of course he didn't he only met me less than a day ago, depending on how long I was passed out for, that's just a guess. I've given him no reason to trust me.

"What about the scars, you said your mom and brother gave them to you? What did you do?" I questioned him.

"Like I said," he replied, "I wanted out, so I did, I ran, I tried to get away. Want to know what she did when they brought me back?" he asked me. I nodded my head. "They put me in the torture room. I was struck with a knife, poisoned, shot, whipped, electrocuted, and then left for dead. I was made an example of, that if anyone else tried to run, they'd end up like me. When they figured out that I wasn't going to die they threw me in here. I've been here ever since, not ever leaving. They give me food, sometimes. Water comes daily, but there's hardly any." He just looked down at his shoes and pushed around some rocks with his fingers.

"Why should I trust anything you say?" I ask him. His family has done nothing but lie and deceive me. Why would he be any different?

"Because I have nothing left to loose." I flinched remembering _he_ had told me the almost exact same thing when I asked him what he was that I wasn't. "Why would I tell you lies when you can obviously seen the truth? I've been stuck in this cell and I'm sure I've given you no reason to trust me, nor has my family, but what choice do you have? You're stuck here with me whether you like it or not." I sighed knowing he was right.

"I'm going to tell you now though," I told him, "I still don't fully trust you. After everything I've been through, I'm not trusting anyone anytime soon, so you're not getting my story, not now, not ever." I think he understood because he just nodded his head and continued staring at the corner. He knew that I was weary of everyone I let in. He knew the one person I did betrayed me. He was smart. He could figure out what happened on his own. I bet he also knew that I didn't fully trust him because of where we are, and the circumstances we are under.

"Is there any chance you'll be able to trust me in the future?" Zach asked me.

"As of right now, no, there's no chance." I replied sternly. I wasn't letting anyone in, no matter what.

He just sighed and stood up, moving to the other side of the room. The talking was done for a while. The silence was maddening. I don't know how he could stand it for god knows how many years. I couldn't even take these few minutes. It was like he was playing games with my mind by just sitting there staring at me. Maybe this is why Mrs. Goode had me room with him, a form of psychological torture.

I couldn't take it; I broke the silence. "You said you had a brother," I whispered. "You said he helped inflict the scars on you. Who was he?"

"His name is Carson. We were closer than peas in a pod when we were little. I'm older by the way." He mumbled something after that but I didn't catch it. "When we were little, he was terrified of mother. We knew the types of things she did. We knew the business she dealt in. Heck, we'd seen her kill multiple times by the time we were six. I remember we'd always close our eyes and plug each other's ears. Sure it looked strange, but it kept out the bad memories. As we grew up, he stopped closing and plugging, and watching and listening. I saw him change, not physically, but mentally. I stayed the same though, I never watched, I never listened. I knew that he was completely hopeless the day he asked mother if he could join in. He was always her favorite after that. Always 'why can't you be more like Carson, he's the good son, I don't know why I ever had two.' Usually she'd hit me after that. I got the scar on my eye the day she finally snapped.

"She wanted to test Carson's loyalty. What better way than against his own brother. She was getting fed up with me, not doing what she said, not listening. The day she snapped she handed the knife to Carson and said, 'You're the good son, do what you want with the other one, maybe after he'll listen and come to his senses.' I could tell Carson was debating about whether to listen to mother or attack me. I guess fear triumphs all. He slashed my face, cutting all the way down to my neck. I lied there bleeding for days; no help came. He didn't say anything to me afterward. No 'sorry' or even a 'you deserved it' he was silent.

"Eventually mother sent him off to school saying that if he was going to become the best then he would have to learn. Me? I stayed here and was beaten for years. Every time she yelled, 'Why can't you be more like your brother, he listens, he does exactly what I want him to do. You are a worthless piece of shit.' It usually ended with her spitting on me and leaving me there." He was crying when he finished the story. The wounds weren't bleeding, but they were certainly open. I saw it in his eyes, as obvious as day. He was hurting, not physically at the moment, but emotionally, mentally.

"You want to know the worst part. He was my twin, so it felt like it was myself doing all these things to me. It was like being attacked by your reflection. I guess all those years I was protecting him, I really felt like I was protecting myself, and that if he didn't hear or see it then I didn't either, but I know I did. I saw everything. I heard everything, and as much as I tried to forget it I can't. It will always be there, and it will always repeat itself."

"I'm so sorry Zach," I whispered. I moved across the room to sit next to him. I put my hand on his back and my head on his shoulder. He placed his head on top of mine, and I felt his hot tears dripping down onto my face. The old Zach would never have done this he was too proud or strong or something, but he never would have cried.

That's when I realized it. It wasn't Zach, it was never Zach. It was always Carson. Carson played with my heart, my emotions, my everything. He was the mysterious boy that stole my heart then ripped it to shreds. He was the one that betrayed me.

"It was Carson wasn't it?" I asked Zach. "He went the Blackthorn, he was there during the exchange, he turned me over to your mother." He just nodded in response, not making eye contact. I could see the tears still streaming down his face. My hand was still on his back and I began rubbing comforting circle in it. I could tell that he had wanted to get this off his back for a while, and that the information was really taking a toll on him. I was beginning to feel bad that I hadn't trusted him. _No_ I thought to myself_ I can't let him in. If I do he'll end up betraying me. Don't let him in. Don't let him in. Don't let him in. _Those words repeated themselves like an endless mantra in my head. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours but could only have been minutes.

The bad part? Zach and I overlooked a crucial detail. We lost track of time, which in the spy world can be as deadly as yelling out "Hi! I'm an enemy spy here to take your secrets! You can take me to your headquarters to torture me now!" Why was it bad that we lost track of time? Because, a few minutes after Zach finished his story the metal door crashed open and I saw a face that I hoped I wouldn't see for a long time.

"Hey Gallagher Girl," Carson smirked.


	7. Completely, Utterly Confused

**Hey everyone, this is your belated New Year's gift :P. Anyways I have an announcement I changed my name to: HalfiesRule. You know cause we totally do KOREAN FTW! Haha okay so. First off I'd like to say to Patricia Alexis and answer a few questions she had. First off thank you for the long review it took a while to read :p. Second I'm not sure this is like a weird Zammie nonZammie kinda thing cause it will have it but not in the ways you might imagine. It's not like openly stated like oh ya we kissed and stuff, but different more subtle. I like subtlety. As for the sequel not sure, I was planning on making this just a story but if I get good reviews on this and people want me to continue I might do one after the sequel to my other story Best Friends: Better Together. As for the critic. What I meant was like he looked pretty good as in no fresh beatings all the wounds were closed and only scars were left. I was describing the scars so you can get an idea as for what Zach has been through and how different his life really was. And for the reviewer answers I'll probably only answer a couple of questions like if I get them a lot because a lot of people are confused or if I think that it is imperative to the plot line. Other than that no. I probably won't do reviewer answers even though this is one, but I find them kind of annoying so I won't do many. Anyways I think that's all folks. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"What do you want?" I sneered at the figure in the door. Zach was glaring at his brother next to me. Carson just stood in the door and smirked.

"Aw, Gallagher Girl, what happened to the girl I kissed back last year? See, she knew how to have a good time, sneaking out to have secret boyfriends, getting cozy with me in a train compartment." I felt Zach stiffen up beside me; his muscles tensing, and his face going emotionless.

"She disappeared with the boy that she thought was her friend, but was really a backstabbing douche bag." I glared at him.

"Aww," he cooed, "I was really starting to like her. Anyways, it's time for more questioning, and guess what! Mother has given me the privilege of questioning you." Carson smirked. It wasn't that attractive-mildly-annoying smirk anymore, now it was just 'oh look I get to hurt someone today! Joy is me!'

"I still don't understand why you chose her," Zach said beside me. He was speaking through gritted teeth I could tell. "She did nothing for us."

"Dear brother," Carson sneered, "I almost forgot that you existed, being trapped in this cell and all. And see this is why I chose her. You're in the cell and I'm not. She showed me the light of wealthy living. I'm sorry you never saw that, but that's your loss. So what if I have to kill a few people, if I benefit myself then who cares?" I felt Zach about to get up, so I quickly grabbed his arm. He looked over at as if to say 'please? Just one punch?' I shook my head no and he sat back down in defeat.

"Enough chit-chat," Carson announced, "Let's go Cameron." Carson pulled me harshly up by my arm, nearly pulling it out of its socket. I knew that he was strong (a girl doesn't spar with a guy for half a year in P&E and not figure that out) but not that strong. I guess he really had been holding back.

He dragged me out of the room, and I heard Zach scrambling to get up to try and follow us. He was too late though; Carson slammed the door on his face and led me to a room that was familiar to the one I woke up in the other day. Carons plunged a syringe into my arm, and both of them went numb. Well, that kind of defeats the purpose of torture if I can't feel what they're doing to me. He plunged the syringe into both my legs as well, leaving me immobile. He strapped me into the chair, putting restraints on my arms, hands, neck, and legs. After I was strapped in, he thrusted a different syringe into my arms and legs. They began to burn, but slowly feeling was coming back. I was tense the entire time, and after about ten minutes the fire died down, and I could feel the full effect of what Mrs. Goode did to me. The cuts burned and my cheek stung because she left a bruise.

"Alrighty Gallagher Girl. Are you ready?" Carson smirked at me. I didn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes. So first off, you need to tell me exactly what you know about the Athens mission that your dad and Solomon went on."

"How could you do this Zach, Carson, whoever you are? How could you do this to Solomon? To Grant, Jonas, everyone at Blackthorn," I screamed at him, "to me?" I whispered the last part, so it was barely audible. I remembered how much Grant and Jonas would be crushed learning that Carson (Zach to them) was a member of the Circle of Cavan, the very organization that we have been fighting and trying to destroy. Tears were welling in my eyes, because as much as I wanted to hate him, I couldn't. I loved him. He saved me so many times, not just physically, but emotionally too, and here he is killing everything, replacing everything I thought I knew with lies.

"You were the one person I thought I could trust. I told you everything, about my life, about my problems. I can't believe you'd just betray all of us like that! Abby was right! You're no good. You can kill me right now for all I care. I've done my job. I won't crack. You've taken everything from me, everything I've loved, everything I've cared about, you've taken it and thrown it away, like it was worthless pieces of trash. I don't worry about my family or friends, they will get over me. I was the chameleon. There's no reason they would remember me. But you, will you be able to comprehend the fact that you killed me? That you pushed me to the point that you were not longer the one with nothing to loose, that you've turned me into that too? You've taken everything, and you're not getting anything anymore." I glared at him, and he truly looked worried, but I'd seen this look before. He just acted like he cared, didn't really.

"Oh," he smirked once again, "but I know you. Probably even better than you know yourself. I know that you fatally loyal to those who care about you. I know that you'll do anything to protect those close to you. As for Grant and Jonas, they were just…assets. Pawns if you please. They were more of a cover, you should know all about them, Cammie Solomon." He was referring to the name I used when I was dating Josh. He was still a soar subject with me and Carson knew that. "Besides if I can't get you to crack by hurting you, I can always hurt those around you." He winked at me and I felt violated.

"Why?" I asked him, "Why say you were your brother? It makes no sense."

"Oh but my dear Gallagher Girl i-"

"Don't call me that!" I screamed at him, "you lost that privilege when you turned me into your mother. You lost that privilege when you showed me who you truly were. You lost that privilege a long time ago." I glared at him, my teeth gritted and my back tense. I wanted so badly to spring from my bonds and strangle his lying little neck.

"As I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me, didn't Madame Dabney teach you anything Gallagher Girl? _Tsk Tsk_. I must say. Anyways. It makes perfect sense. Your friends, family, Solomon, everyone has no idea about me, well in your case Zach. When they find you either dead or severely injured, they'll come after 'Zach' and most likely kill him. You see, we'll leave you damaged enough that they can see you die, and then we'll just shove Zach out the door right into their hands. It's two birds with one stone you see." He grinned an evil grin, looking morel like his mother by the second.

"Zach would be able to explain what happened. He's very persuasive you know." Lie. I know nothing about Zach, for all I know he could be the dumbest person on the planet.

"Are they really going to believe that his twin brother handed you over to the Circle, killed you, then jus disappeared? Honestly? Would you believe that yourself Gallagher Girl? And you're supposed to be the smart one here." Carson shook his head and then refocused. We'd been in here for more than an hour and I'd gotten more information out him, than he has me. I think there's something wrong with that logic seeing as I'm the one who's supposed to be being interrogated.

"I've been getting off track. My, my Gallagher Girl, you really are the clever one here. Using pathos to cleverly conceal the fact that you're getting information out of me." He chuckled in disbelief. "I guess you're not the Chameleon for nothing."

"What do you want from me?" I sighed out. "I know no more than you do, and you've read the journal. You've no doubt shown it to your _mother_." I spat out the word 'mother' as if it were vinegar on my tongue. "I don't have the information you need, I don't have anything. _You've_ taken it all away!" I screamed at him. Not even a flinch.

"I've taken nothing from you!" he screamed back at me. "You want to know why I've taken nothing from you? It's because you had nothing to begin with! Do your friends really care about you? No, they don't because they're not even trying to help you. Did you know Bex left Gallagher to go back to England because her parents are getting a divorce. How about that Liz is back in Alabama with her mom in the hospital with a severe case of pancreatic cancer that leaves her with only days left to live? Maybe you knew that Macey is dying to get away from her alcoholic mother that hits her and verbally and physically abuses her? All you care about is your pathetic little boy problems. They have bigger issues than when you should meet Josh, or interpreting your stupid little crush means. They. Don't. Care. Get that into your head. They're better off without you. Your mother can finally be happy without worrying about you. Solomon could be dead for all we know! They don't care. You're probably the least of their concern right now."

What he was saying was setting in. I didn't know any of these things. Why hadn't I noticed it? The extra makeup that Macey had been putting on since she came back from summer vacation? The hushed phone calls that Liz was making in between classes, always ending up with her crying for hours after. Bex hadn't even bragged about the latest missions that she'd gone on with her parents to Cario or Montague. She'd been beyond classified when it came to them. He was right. I didn't pay attention to their problems. They helped me for an entire semester with Josh, and not once did I ask them about how life was going at home for them. I asked them how summer went and fine was all I got. Nothing more, nothing less. And I had suspected nothing of it. I was a selfish person. I only cared about my problems and everything had to do with me. Me, me, me, me, me.

"Just kill me then Carson." I said. My voice cracked and I was on the brink of tears. I felt hot lines of water streaking down, waterfalls splashing onto the ground below. "If what your saying is right then you'd be doing them a favor. Then just kill me, I'm of no use."

"Well you see," Carson said, "I can't do that. You see, there's someone who still needs you. There's still things that people need from you. Besides we need you as leverage." That part confused me.

My head snapped up and I looked up at Carson. "Leverage? What are you talking about? Leverage on who?" I rushed out at him.

"You really are dim aren't you Morgan? Gallagher Girl you're really loosing your touch. Or maybe you just need McHenry here twenty-four-seven to tell you what people are thinking." He just stared at me. His face was blank of emotion. I was still. Unmoving. A statue.

"You said there were people who need me. I don't care about them Carson. The Circle can die and wither in flames for all I care. I want to be done with this. I want to go away. I want to be rid of you. I can't handle it, contrary to the popular belief. I'm still just a kid, I can't do this." I was full blown crying now.

"Are you sure you don't care about all of them?" Carson asked me. I don't quite understand what happened next, but as clearly as I can remember I saw Carson Goode (if that was his real name) put his lips on my and kiss me.


	8. Are You Kidding Me?

**Okay, sorry for the late update, but I just wanted to put this in because I noticed in the last chapter I said that Carson said that Solomon could be dead for all we know, but in the beginning of the story I said that he was teaching CoveOps, so just to be clear I meant that to be Townsend, and that Solomon is still in a coma. Sorry if any of you were confused. Also in reviews if you guys could restrain from any super strong language, no matter how mad you are. I know I use some in my story, but that's just so it fits the mood of the scene. Like you wouldn't see a bad guy going around saying "TELL ME WHAT THE MUFFINS YOU KNOW OR ELSE!" you know like crap is fine, but anything other than that I prefer you not say. Thanks for all the reviews and stuff though. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

Alright, someone really need to tell me what the heck is going on here. One minute this kid is yelling at me saying that my friends and family don't care about me, and then next he's kissing me. _Freaking kissing me_. There were a lot of words going through my mind at the moment, most of them swear words, but I truly could not understand what the heck was going on. My eyes were open the entire time. Had this been a week ago, I would have happily returned the kiss with equal passion. But, that was a week ago. That was then this is now. His eyes were closed, and this would've been the perfect time to strike and escape, but Carson knew me. Correction, he knows me. He knows that if he did I would be too stunned to run. I hated him for it. I hated how he knew me. I hated that he turned me over to his mother. I hate that he hurt his brother. I hate how he betrayed everyone close to me, to us. I just hate him.

He kept his lips on mine for two minutes and four seconds. He began to pull back, realizing I wasn't returning his passion. Well, no dur. He pulled his head back and stood up strait. He had to bend over to kiss me. When he was originally bending over I though he was just trying to intimidate me, get in my face. You know? Well, this was a horrible turn of events.

Carson walked over to the intercom and pressed a small button. "We're done here," he spoke into it, with a harsh tone. I could only inwardly grin that I was the cause of his frustration. Maybe soon he'd know the pain he'd put me through, the confusion, the anger. "Gallagher Girl, don't think this is the last time we'll see each other." Carson said walking back over to me.

"Oh Carson, what would be the odds of that?" I asked him; giving him a similar answer to the one he gave me at the end of that semester. He smirked at me, opened the heavy metal door and left. I was left there for another half an hour, strapped to that _freaking chair_. It wasn't even comfortable either! God, being strapped to this incessant machine was torture enough. The even worse part was that I was left there with my thoughts, and only my thoughts. _Why did he kiss me? I thought he hated me_ I thought to myself. _Maybe this is a new type of psychological torture_. That _must_ be it. Carson handed me over to his mother. That was his plan from the very beginning. Everything he said and did were lies. I can't believe anything from him.

Eventually, after being left alone for a long period of time, I lost track, I had divulged that the ceiling was made up 2,483.23 bricks, this room was exactly 73,364 spider's length's wide and 72,902 spider's length's long. Hey, I saw a spider and it gave me the idea. When the only thing you don't want to do is thinking, this is the next best thing, seeing as I'm strapped to a freaking _chair_. Gosh dang it! Get me out of here! I started squirming around in my chair, eventually knocking myself on my side. Not my best plan ever. My hair dropped in front of my eyes, obscuring my vision.

I heard the large metal doors open then slam shut. The people must have finally decided to come and get me. I lay on the ground, helpless. All my limbs still constricted by the infernal straps to the _infernal chair_.

"Aw, did our little guest get herself into a little situation?" one of the voices cooed. It sounded so familiar. You know that feeling when something's on the tip of your tongue? Ya, I had that right now.

"Cut her some slack dude," the second voice said, okay déjà vu. Creepy. This guy sounded super familiar too. What's going on here?

"I don't care, let's just take her back to her cell. He cellmate should be ready now." The first voice said. He let out a boisterous, maniacal laugh. After I felt the needle be injected into my arms, legs, and right below my neck. Everything went limp and numb. My hair was still in my eyes and I couldn't see the people taking me back to my cell. Why did their voices seem so familiar? And they said my cellmate should be ready? What did they do to Zach? Is he okay?

My restraints were released and I was hoisted up by the two guys, but I still couldn't see who they were. My hair was still in my eyes. Note to self:_ cut hair._ I was dragged out of the dark cell and into the harsh light previously shielded by the door. I went blind, the harsh florescence frying my retinas. Along the way, I heard a familiar voice stop the guys carrying me.

"Is she unconscious?" Mrs. Goode asked.

"We're not sure. Carson might've done some major damage, most likely internal, but we're not positive. We were instructed by him to take her back to her cell. By the time we got there, she was strapped into her chair, lying on her side on the ground. She might've hit her head and passed out but we can't be sure." The second guy said, the one who wanted to take it easy one me.

"The blasted son of mine didn't follow my directions. I'll have to have a word with him." I internally smirked. Oh, Carson's gonna get it now. Mommy's little boy isn't so perfect now is he? Ya that's what I thought. "Take her back to her cell, I don't want to look at her anymore." Mrs. Goode sneered at me, and the two guys hoisted me up by the shoulders again and carried be back to the cell.

I heard the heavy metal door scrape against the cold concrete floor. I was roughly thrown in my cell then the door quickly slammed behind me. I looked around, as much as I could with a numb neck, so basically a little to my left and right, then strait in front of me. I was able to conclude that Zach was not in the cell. If he wasn't here, then were was he? Oh my gosh, did they kill him? What if he was just playing me, like Carson and he was just trying to get information from me? Good thing I didn't tell him much.

I sat there for hours, feeling slowly returning to my body. It was slow, but by the time that the cell door opened up I was able to move my entire body. I saw a person thrown into the cell beside me. They didn't notice I was awake because I was fake sleeping in the darkest corner of the room.

I began to examine the person. Male. Brown hair. Tallish. Green eyes. Scar on the side of his face. Zach. I shook out my legs and ran over to him. He had a brand new bruise on the side of his face and a couple of his scars were reopened. Other than that, he looked exactly like I had left him. I probably had less damage done than he did. Isn't that sad.

"Zach," I tried while shaking his shoulder, trying to get him awake. He mumbled something incoherently. "Zach," I tried again. Zip. "Zach!" I screamed in his ear. He blinked awake and screamed. Out of pure instinct, he scrambled to the other side of the room, trying to get away from the opposing person. AKA me.

"My god Cammie," he said, clutching his heart, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Me?" I questioned him, "You nearly gave me a heart attack when I came back here, paralyzed and you weren't here! I thought they'd killed you, or worse you'd betrayed me like your brother." I spoke softly.

"I'm so sorry Cam," he said sincerely, "but, um, I don't think that your torture is over yet."

"Why would you say that," I asked him skeptically.

"Well, when they took me, first the questioned me, then they um fed me something they probably shouldn't have." He looked really nervous and embarrassed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he began slowly scooting away from me.

"Zach…"I asked him, "What's going on?"

"Well,erm, -a" he stalled.

"Out with it," I commanded. He mumbled something I couldn't hear. "One more time." I told him.

"I'm lactose intolerant!" He screamed. After he clapped his and over his mouth and turned away from me. Oh Jesus no.

"Please don't tell me," I warned.

"Erm, uh, ya, they kinda did." He told me embarrassed.

Well crap.

Have you ever sat in a cell with no windows, and no fresh air for several hours with a farting Zach. No I bet you haven't. This was seriously the worst torture I've ever endured. Zach and I sat on opposite ends of the room, not looking at each other, not speaking. I could tell that he was still super red from his previous revelation and his current state. You'd think that maybe, _maybe _you'd get used to the smell after a while. Wrong. Each one was worse than the previous. My god it was horrible. Words cannot describe the pain was going through at the time. I can't even begin to imagine what Zach was going through. This was almost so bad that I wished that Carson would take me back into that torture room.

Oh, if you were wondering, I decided not to tell Zach about Carson kissing me. Why you may ask? I have absolutely no idea. I know that I probably should tell Zach about it, seeing as though it was his brother who kissed me, but Zach seemed to be dealing with some other _problems_ at the time.

This left me alone with my thoughts for the rest of the night. Well, my thoughts and Zach's flatulence in the background. Wonderful. I still couldn't get over the fact that I couldn't place the voices of the guys that brought me back to this cell. They were so familiar, so close. I racked my brain, looking for the voices. Having Mr. Solomon as a CoveOps teacher for a year and a half helped. Telling you to notice things, constantly memorize everything. The voices were just so familiar. Why couldn't I place them? They were definitely voices I've heard everyday for a long time. Like if it were Bex's, Liz's, or Macey's I'd be able to identify it in a heartbeat, but these were different, plus Bex, Liz and Macey probably didn't' even want to hear about me or even talk to me. Nothing to do with me.

I kept thinking about who the voices were, when it was right on the tip of my tongue, Zach let out another horrendous gas cloud. Frustrated, I screamed, "I know that this isn't your fault but could you _please_ try and at least keep them silent and deadly? Not loud and obnoxious?" I saw Zach slightly nod his head then return looking at his corner.

Who were they? Why were they here? Those guys…so familiar…Bex…Liz…Macey…Grant…Jonas. Wait…Grant….Jonas… Oh my god.

Grant and Jonas were here. They were working for the Circle. They were working with Carson. They lied. They deceived us. They are exactly like Carson.

Are you freaking Kidding me?


	9. Truth Revealed, Sort Of

**Sorry about the long wait everyone. Taking two high school classes in middle school will do that to you along with ASB and Green team. My soccer schedule has been pretty hectic too, and my teachers thought it'd be a good idea to assign more homework. Joy is me. Anyways, I have some pretty good ideas about where this is going and what's going to happen in the next few chapters. If you guys have any idea about what's going to happen I'd love to hear it. There's a pretty big hint in this chapter, if you're a true Gallagher Girl you'll be able to find it ;). Anyways I'll try to update sooner next time. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

After being left in the cell for hours with Zach the flatulent, I thank the lord when they took me out of the cell. I think they could tell I was awake by the way I was gagging horribly in the corner. The heavy metal door slid open, scraping the ground like nails on a chalkboard, revealing two figures. I think I literally prayed "thank you" to God for letting me out of this forsaken room.

"Thank Jesus!" I cried as fresh air wafted into my face. For the first time in hours I was able to smell something other than noxious gas that emitted from Zach's rear end. Zach looked insulted that I wanted to get out of this badly enough that I would be excited for torture. Sadistic, isn't it? I gave him a 'you know it's pretty bad' look, and he just turned around, ripe as a tomato as they took me out of the room. I realized the two guys were Grant and Jonas, and immediately started struggling.

"Will you stop squirming Cam!" Grant yelled at me. I sneered in response, and I felt Jonas's fingers drumming against my shoulders. I was annoyed by it because the drums were irregular; not in a rhythm, just small taps. I continued trying to get out of their grasps when Grant decided to inject me with the numbing serum.

"Why are you guys doing this?" I asked them when I couldn't feel my arms or legs anymore. We were one left, two rights, and another left away from the torture room. Not very good on their part, if I can remember my way to the torture room, then I can easily scope out what else in contained in this building and any possible escape routes.

"That's not important, and we'll be the ones asking the questions now I recommend that you quite down Cameron." Grant sneered at me. I guess I always took Grant for granted, no pun intended. He never seemed like he could hurt a person. Normally I wondered what he was doing in this kind of life, but it never occurred to me that it was all an act. He was always the teddy bear that you could hug if you were having a bad day. His soft smile always brightened up a room, but I guess I though the same thing about Carson. Grant really was the ultimate actor; he deceived all of us, even Bex. She had suspected something was wrong with Zach- well Carson- but you get the point.

We got to the torture room and I was strapped into the chair. If you haven't noticed, I really hate this chair. I struggled as much as I could, but seeing as my entire body was limp and numb, I was kind of like moving with weights attached everywhere. They injected the other serum in to my body allowing me to feel again. I tried to struggle again, but I was too tired to struggle anymore. I hadn't gotten any sleep for obvious reasons last night, and being tortured everyday (at least I think everyday), will do that to a person.

_Hm_, I wondered to myself_, I wonder who will be torturing me today, maybe they'll have my mom or perhaps Abby because it seems like everyone I care about is working for the circle. _I sat in the chair for probably an hour after Grant and Jonas left. Pondering over who was coming to deliver the daily pain, I continued to tap the same semi-rhythm that Jonas was playing on my shoulder. I only remembered parts of it because my brain wasn't at one-hundred-percent when he was playing it. I was more concerned at the time with the two backstabbing butt-faces who were taking me to be tortured. The more that I played the taps, the more familiar it seemed.

A man in clad walked in soon after the clocked ticked one hour. Yes. I did just realize there's a clock in here. I guess even terrorist organizations have to be punctual. I didn't recognize this man, never had seen him in my life. He had a light hunch, and scrawny arms. He was no taller than five foot, and his brown hair was fading, already showing streaks of white from old age. He wore a tie with a plaid suit. He had scars on the edges of his face that implied surgery. His right arm moved more stiffly than the rest of his body, and the joint popped in-and-out when it moved. Either it was a poor prosthetic or this guy really needed to see a doctor.

I could easily take him, but the rest of the Circle, probably not. I started to analyze the way he moved, his weak sides, and if he favored any part of his body more than others. I concluded that he _was_ right handed, but something happened and how he has a prosthetic, his right side was stronger, although he preferred to fight with his left because of his disability. I could tell because of his open knuckles and the lack of scratches on his prosthetic. His left eye was delayed, and looked slightly central when he was really looking strait.

I continued my analysis, but my train of thought was interrupted when the man said, "Evening Ms. Morgan." So it was night right now. Good to know.

Menacingly, I glared at him, staring directly at his lazy eye. He just brushed it off as nothing and continued on, "I hope you have found your say…appropriate," he concluded searching for the right word. I inwardly rolled my eyes. _Yes, of course I just love being stuck in a room with a lactose intolerant boy who was given milk who lets the loose like there's no tomorrow and my only escape from it is to be take to be tortured. So yes, they are very much appropriate_ I thought to myself. I've found out it's best not to speak. Because you know 'actions speak louder than words.'

"Continuing on, I do believe that introductions are necessary." I noticed he had a slight twang in his voice, noting that he was from somewhere in Britain; my guess is Manchester. He hid it well though; I'll give him that. "I am Samuel Witte, the executive director of the Circle of Cavan." He lifted his hand to lift it, but then remembered that I'm strapped to a chair. I didn't say a response.

"You probably already know what the Circle of Cavan is. We were founded by Ioseph Cavan, but he was brutally murdered by Gillian Gallagher. I'm positive you've heard this story, thousands of times, and know it by heart, but I highly doubt you know the entire story. You know that Ioseph Cavan was killed by Gillian because he was allegedly going to murder President Lincoln, but contrary to popular belief that was not the case. Ioseph had something that President Lincoln wanted. To this day no one knows what it is. Well, besides one. Ioseph was very secretive. He didn't tell anyone what he had that Lincoln wanted, or why. Whatever it is that Lincoln wanted died along with Ioseph. Well, that is until recently. You see, this is why we need you here. We want back what rightfully belongs to the Circle. We're not actually 'evil' per say, we just want back what's rightfully ours, and we'll do anything to get it back. I hope you understand why we're doing this now Cameron."

Mr. Witte turned pressed a button on the intercom and exited the room. Wait, that was it, I don't even have a scratch on me! Well, not that I'm complaining, well I guess I kind of am, but anyways, there has to be more to this. Nothing is ever this simple. I wasn't even here for more than ten minutes, in the case with another person. They came to get me pretty quickly this time too. I only sat there for couple of minutes. It wasn't Grant and Jonas who took me back to my cell this time though; it was an awkward stubby man and a tall lanky girl. Wow, this is the first girl I've seen here besides Mrs. Goode, strange…

I awaited the many lefts and intricate rights as I was taken to my cell, however today was different. Instead of a left at the shady corner (yes I had named it that because it had a rustic brown color that did not look natural thus looking shady) we continued on strait. If I'm not going back to my cell this can't be good. Okay, maybe it might because I won't have to deal with Sir Farts-a-lot. I know I'm probably being super rude to him about something he can't control, but I mean _come on_ it's horrible!

I was lead to a more furnished section of the base. The architecture looked Roman, but we couldn't be in Italy. I got here in a car, not by plane, and I highly doubt that I slept through an entire flight from Virginia to Italy. I was able to ascertain that it was not only Roman architecture here, but also a mixture of French, Greek, and Russian. What an odd mix. I guess that we must still be in the U.S. because we're the only country that doesn't have it's own architectural designs; we borrow instead. I guess COW was useful for something after all…who would've knew?

I was shoved in front of a large wooden door; it wasn't anything that should fit the grandness of the rest of the vicinity. The paint was peeling and the edges of the door chipping. The hinges were rusted and the lock was obviously broken. If I'm going to be stuck in here, this would be the perfect time to escape, but I don't think that I could leave Zach here, I mean even though his current state is horrendous, he's kept me pretty much sane while I've been here. I knew I could never leave him alone here to die or be tortured anymore; I just couldn't leave him.

The guards holding me knocked on the door. Eerily it opened, and I was shoved inside. The inside of the room was slightly better than the door. The walls were a dirty white, and the paint was peeling at the top. The carpet was bare and torn up in some places and a small bed lay in the corner of the room. A desk was on the opposing side of the room, and had only three legs; the fourth one was replaced with an umbrella. The best part, there was a window. The bad part? It had four micro-sensors on either sides of the frame. This means that it gave opportunity for escape, but I'd never make it more than two inches without being surrounded by Circle members.

I sat down on the bed after the guards left. Okay, this is absolutely the most surreal experience I've ever had. Is this my new cell/holding room thingy? I heard the latch on the closet in the room open. That's when I realized it wasn't a closet. I saw Carson walk out wearing only a pair of pants, no shirt. Okay, worst moment of my life, even though he's evil and everything, I will say this, he has no flab. That's it I'm done. Carson smirked at me, if this had been any other time but now, I would've have been beat red by now and finding a way to cover up my blush. Right now though, I'm just sitting on the bed glaring.

"Long time no see Gallagher Girl." Carson said to me.

"Go to hell," was my subtle response.

"You know you want me," he smirked again in reply. He walked over to me, kneeled down on the ground, like he was proposing, and caressed my cheek.

"Go. To. Hell." I repeated, shaking his hand away from my face. The guards had given me the ability to move again, but my hands were cuffed behind my back and my ankles had links that didn't let them separate more than foot.

"Well, remember Gallagher Girl," Carson spoke to me, "I always finish what I started." He placed his hand back on my face and leaned in again. Oh hell no. I lifted my head back and slammed it as hard as I could into his. I heard a sickening crunch, then felt a metallic taste in my mouth. Not good, blood. I opened my eyes, and saw that Carson was holding his head and blood was seeping through his fingers. I smiled to myself. This was the first damage I had inflicted on anyone in a while and it felt _oh so good_. He was furious. I probably wouldn't last long enough to feel his wrath though. I was loosing blood fast and my eyesight was already beginning to fail. Everything went blurry and I began to slump over.

"This isn't over Gallagher Girl," Carson warned.

That's when everything went black, and everything else started to go to hell.


	10. No, You Don't

**Hey guys, is this early enough? Anyways love the new reviews and comments good guesses, and I want to hear you input on this chapter too. What was your favorite part, and what should I include more of? Anyways, this chapter is kinda a filler, but I hope you like it anyways. I have a six hour drive to Arizona on Friday so I'll probably write on the drive -.- fun. No. Not really. Anyways, Read, Enjoy, Review. :P **

You want to know what sucks about passing out from blood loss? The dreams that come with it. They're totally unrealistic, just like the one I had today (tonight?). It was of me, my mom, my friends, Zach (good Zach, not Carson look-a-like aka sir ass-face), and we were_ happy_. Can you believe that? Happy! See that's a complete and total figment of anyone's imagination. The worse part about the dream, besides the fact that I wanted to be real so badly was that my dad was there too. He was living, breathing, there.

"You're strong Cam," he told me, "Nothing will ever change that, I might not be there now physically, but I'll still always be here with you. You'll make it back, and this life you see here will come true. Everything will be fine and I just want you to know I love you." He closed his eyes and turned around. I felt my eyes swelling up and tears forming. I ran, as fast as I could, towards him, but the faster I ran, the farther away he got. Eventually he was out of sight, and I collapsed. It was a complete out of body experience. His words echoed through out the white chasm I was lying in.

My friends, Zach, and my mom had disappeared. I was alone. Just like I was now. This is when everything began to come into perspective. I was waiting to be rescued here. No one was coming for me. My dad disappeared and may or may not be dead. I was alone, and that's how it's going to stay.

I awoke with a start and found tears streaming down my face. My head was stitched and throbbing. The bad part was I wasn't in my cell. I know that _seems_ like a good thing, but it was far from it. I was still in Carson's room. Shoot. Not good. My hands were still bound, but I guess thrashing around in my sleep, I managed to break my ankle restraints on something. I examined the room and found the end posts of the bed broken and splintered. I guess that was easy to figure out.

Some of my hair slumped into my face. Quickly blowing it out of my face, I scanned the room for a way out. The only way I could figure besides the window that was heavily guarded by sensors and other fun contraptions, was the front door. That's when I heard it. They were just tiny puffs of air, but they were easy to identify as human. I turned my head slightly and saw Carson lying beside me in the bed. Okay, gross. He was a spy, an assassin no less, so even the simplest movement should have woken him. That's when I realized that his head was stitched too. I grinned knowing that it would leave a scar and I was the cause of it. He must be out cold if me thrashing around on the bed didn't wake him.

Slowly, I tried to get up from the bed, unsuccessfully though. As soon as my first foot touched the ground, and hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

"Where do you think you're going Gallagher Girl?" Carson mumbled to me, still have asleep.

"Shhh, I'm not going anywhere, just using the bathroom," I lied quickly.

"Haha," he fake laughed, "very funny, now sit back down or you'll just have to go back to sleep…not optionally." He added at the end. Well crap, I guess I'm not getting out of here then. I sat back down on the bed and huffed. Carson went back to sleep and I just lied back down and looked at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep, at least not while knowing that Carson was lying no more than two inches away from me. I did what I knew to do best after this point. I counted.

What I think was three hours later, I awoke. I must've fallen asleep while counting. I guess that counting sheep thing really does work. Strange. I noticed that the bed was empty. That meant that Carson was gone. I scanned the room to see if he was still present. No sign. I distinctly heard the shower running; good, perfect time for an escape. I stood up and started for the front door, only to be yanked backwards on my butt. My hand was cuffed the bedpost. How cliché. I checked my hair for bobby pins, safety pins, anything, nada, zip, zilch.

I heard the shower water turn off and I knew I only had moments for the devil incarnate arrived to grace my presence. Maybe moments were too long because as soon as the water turned off, Carson came out of the bathroom. Again, not wearing a shirt. Does he really think that will work? Okay, maybe it did a little, I'm not going to lie he's pretty hot.

"Morning sleepy head," he joked at me. I glared in return.

"Let me out of here Carson." I demanded.

"But I can't let you go, it doesn't quite work like that." He walked over and sat down next to me. His green eyes pierced into me. I turned my head to avoid the awkward eye contact. He placed his hand on my cheek and turned my head towards him. I wanted so badly to close my eyes, just so I didn't have to look at him, but I knew that if I did I would very easily miss a vital opportunity. Plus, he could try and kiss me again.

"Why keep me here Carson? Why keep me here instead of in my cell. What can I _possibly _have to offer you? I know that you guys are looking for whatever the heck Ioseph had, but I can't help you. Because I. Don't. Know. I don't know what it is and I don't know where it is. I don't know what it does, and I don't know why it's important. What I do know is that _you_ keep toying with my emotions and pretty soon I'm going to be labeled clinically insane. All I want to know is why keep up the act. You got me here, you finished your mission." I looked over at him and he looked completely shocked. I guess he didn't expect that whole revelation.

"See that's where you're wrong. We don't want you for what you know. After the first day we _knew_ you didn't know anything. We ju-" He told me, but I quickly interrupted.

"Then why keep me here!" I screamed.

"Just because you're not the one we want, doesn't mean we still can't use you. You're…leverage…" He told me. He still stared at me, and I squirmed under his gaze. I'm finished with this.

"I just want to go home," I said softly. He placed a hand on me back and started to rub circles in it. This was the Zach that I knew, not Carson. This is the person that I met at the exchange, the one that tailed me in DC, the one that held me close in the train compartment. This was the person I fell in love with.

"I know you do." He whispered in my ear, sending chills up my spine. I abruptly stood up and tried to walk away from him, but then remembered I was handcuffed to the bed. I noticed the key was lying on the opposite room, completely out of my reach. Dang it.

"Just stop it Za-Carson," I corrected myself. I was getting so used to him being the Zach that I knew, that I was calling him it too.

"Stop what Gallagher Girl?" he smirked at me. And that Zach is gone now.

"You know what!" I shouted at him. "You do and say these things and you just confuse me. I want to know why, I want to know why you play me like this!"

"Who said I was playing you?" he questioned me.

"Well, first of all you turned me into your mother, _your mother_, to get tortured, and then you kiss me, and leave, _again_. And you just-you just- you just- Gah! Just leave me alone; I don't want to deal with you. I want you gone, out of my life; I never want to see you again! There's a certain limit you can push someone to Carson, and you pushed me past that long ago." I threw my hands up, and attempted to stomp away. Inevitably, I fell on my rear. Goddamn handcuffs. I collapsed on the ground and placed my hands over my eyes.

Carson came and sat next to me. "I'm not playing you Gallagher Girl," Carson said to me.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you." I breathed out shakily.

"That's because I love you." Carson said. That's when time stopped. The world literally stopped spinning and I nearly passed out.

"That's not good enough," I told him. I glared at him. I managed to find a spare broken paper clip and I picked the handcuffs in two seconds flat. To give myself the element of surprise though I stood up first.

Carson looked over at me and his eyes were ablaze. His emerald eyes darkened and his hands balled up into fists. The vein in his neck popped out, and his muscles tensed. I released my hands from the cuffs and sprung into action. My hand flew out for a blow to the face, but he easily countered it.

"That's it!" he screamed at me, as he tried to land a hit to my stomach. I was able to duck though and swipe at his feet. He jumped just in time though, landing on his feet like a cat. "That's not good enough!" He went in for another hit, right at my injury. It was a near hit. If he had been less than a millimeter closer I would have been down for the count.

"I'm leaving Carson, and you can't stop me." There's one thing that my dad taught me before he went MIA. If you ever get in a fight with a guy, there's a pretty practical way to win. First get them angry. Check. Next, typically when angry the brain can only focus on one task, and won't pay attention to two incoming projectiles at once. So basically, go in for a punch, and then since it's a guy hit lower, where it really counts. It's not a clean, pretty move, but it's effective.

I lifted my fist, and let it fly towards his nose, as predicted, his eyes tracked my fist looking for the counter, that's when I brought my foot up and kicked as hard a I could right between the legs. Like I said, not pretty but effective.

Carson crumpled to one knee, but got up no more than two seconds later. What the heck was going on?

"Oh come on Gallagher Girl," he spoke, "give me a little more credit than that, you know I'd never go into a room with a potential threat without certain 'protection'" he put air quotes around 'protection.' The fight continued on, but I was tired. I've been malnourished for days, and out of training for god knows how long. He, on the other hand, looked like he had more than he wanted and extra training to boot. Eventually Carson managed to pin me, my hands above my head, and my legs trapped beneath his. If anyone came in and saw us like this, it would definitely raise some questions.

"Let me go." I demanded.

"No, not until you say it," Carson demanded from me. Say what? "That you love me back," he responded. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

"Oh _come on_," I said sarcastically. "You can't be serious, you don't love me and I don't love you. End of story." Lie, I did love him, but the old him, not this monster.

"But that's where you're wrong. I really do love you Gallagher Girl, but I have a commitment here to the Circle." I rolled my eyes at this.

"Still don't believe me?" he questioned. "Well, we'll just have to change that." He leaned in closer and soon his lips were on mine again, and there absolutely no way I was going to get out of this. I really felt it though, the love, the passion, the pure honesty that was in this kiss. I never kissed back though. He was still on top of me, but he let his guard down a little, just a little, but that gave me an opening. I was about to flip out of his grasp when we were interrupted.

"Cammie?"


	11. And We're Off

**Okay so I finished this chapter today in the car, so if it seems kind of slow, I'm sorry. Anyways I just wanted to address two things. First to Whoosh() I don't have a beta and i'm most quite sure how to get one...I fail I know...but anyways, sorry If they take away from the story, and I'll try to be better about it in the future. Also, for any of those who are reading this story and have read my other story _Best Friends Together Forever_, there will be a sequel to it and I'm going to write it after this story, I know, the format I'm doing my stories is in is weird, but that's just me. Sorry. If you haven't read it, check it out. Anyways, Read, Enjoy, Review**

Zach was here. He got out of his cell and he was here. I was stuck underneath Carson while he kissed me, and Zach was standing in the doorway like someone just shot his new puppy. Wait a minute. _Zach was here!_ How did he get out?

"Zach?" I questioned. Carson got off me and glared at his brother. I was still on the ground, too shocked to move.

"How did you get out?" Carson sneered. His hands were tensed again, and I saw his muscles flex.

"Hey little bro, how's it goin?" Zach asked nonchalantly, "Long time no see? Ya, right after you left me in that cell to rot. Oh by the way," Zach lifted his hand and punched Carson smack dab in the face. You go Zach, I'd wanted to do that for a while now.

Carson stumbled back clutching his nose that was spewing blood. Zach stood in the door with a smirk. It wasn't Carson's smirk, which was cocky and all too familiar. It was a smirk of satisfaction, like justice had been set right in the world after a long time. Carson got back to his feet and steadied his balance. His nose was still gushing but he managed to keep his hands up and his feet in a fighting stance.

"You think you can just walk in here and interrupt us, punch me in the face, and get away with it?" Carson sneered.

"Well," Zach contemplated, "pretty much."

Carson had a bout fifteen pounds of muscle on Zach, seeing as Zach was locked up in the at cell for so long, I highly doubt that he had much time to work out, or the proper nourishment to form muscle. So right now probably isn't a good time for Zach to start being cocky.

"Wait a minute," I said stepping in between the two, "first off, Zach how did you get out? And secondly, Carson what the heck interrupting what? I didn't chose to kiss you. You pinned me and forced me to."

"Be quite!" They both screamed at me. Way to show compassion guys.

"You know what Zach, mom should have finished you off a _long _time ago, but no, she chose to keep you. Hoping you'd 'turn' and join us. She's never loved me like she did you. Do you know what she says? She says that I will never match up to you. She says that even after going to Blackthorn, capturing Cammie, and keeping her here, you're still better than me! And you've been locked up in a cell!" Carson screamed at Zach. Carson had snapped.

He lunged for Zach, effectively knocking him to the ground. Zach was quick to retaliate though. He flipped them so Zach was on top, but Carson kicked him in the place no guy should be kicked. Zach crumpled and sat on the ground gasping for breath.

"Let's see who's better now." Carson kicked Zach in the side and he sputtered out blood. Zach tried to feebly life an arm, but Carson stepped on it and it broke with a sickening crack.

"Stop it!" I screamed. I was tired of this. These two are going to kill each other at this rate. I attacked Carson landing a successful kick to his lower abdomen. He let out a soft _oof_, but quickly regained composure. His leg came up for a roundhouse kick, thrusting my elbow down onto his shin, I felt the bone give and his leg bent in places it should not. Carson crumpled and unsuccessfully attempted to get up. I looked over at Zach, this was our chance to escape, to leave this hell hole. He was out cold though. Crap.

"Cammie," Carson pleaded, "Don't do this, you can stay here with me. I'll get you a better room, more food, an-anything. You can be happy here. Happy with me. Don't leave. Please." Haha, fat chance.

"You betrayed my trust and everything I though I knew about you was a lie, and I'm not going to start trusting you anytime soon. Goodbye Carson, and good riddance." I know I shouldn't be feeling this, but as I said each of those words, I felt my heart break a little bit, piece by piece. I know Carson realized it too because of the way my words came out strained and broken.

"Gallagher Girl, please, don't go. Please, I need you to stay. I-I- just don- please just stay." Carson pleaded to me.

"Goodbye Carson." I said softly. I picked Zach up and threw him over my shoulder. He weighed a good twenty pounds more than me, and I almost collapsed under his weight. My knees shook and my breath came out in short puffs. I ran out of Carson's room as fast as I could, not stopping, not looking back. I heard Carson's muffled angered cries coming from behind me.

After running through several halls and taking dozens of wrong turns, I realized I wasn't going to make it much farther if I had to keep on carrying Zach. I pulled aside to open closet and set Zach down.

I tapped his face a few times, saying, "Zach, wake up," but he didn't, so I decided to take more drastic measures. I brought my hand up and slashed it across his face. His eyes shot open and then he moaned in pain.

"Ow," he groaned, clutching the side of his face. "You just love finding creative ways to wake me up don't you?"

"No time, get up, we're leaving." I commanded.

"We're what?" he exclaimed. Jumping to his feet, he clutched my hand in his yanked me up.

"Come on, we don't have much time, the guards are sure to find Carson any mi-" I was cut off by screeching sirens and frightening alarms. We started sprinting, but Zach was a little slower than me due to his broken arm. We were sprinting down hall after hall, finding nothing but dead ends. After retracing our tracks for the billionth time, I was suddenly pulled into a closet. No more than a second later I felt Zach being pulled into me and gasping as his broken arm hit my back.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice growled. My muscles tensed and I prepared for a fight. The Circle was already tracking us down and we probably don't have that much time to escape.

"Are you some sort of idiot?" The voice asked again. Wait a minute I know that voice.

"What is wrong with you Grant?" I whisper-shouted at him.

"My god Cam, did you seriously think that we worked for the Circle?" Grant sneered at me. I mumbled 'could've fooled me,' and I'm pretty sure that Grant heard me.

"And you Zach," Grant turned to Zach, "I told you to sit tight, and _not_ escape. When I sent those guys to go get you, you weren't supposed to knock them out! They were your transportation." He placed his hand on either side of his nose and shook his head.

"Wait," I said turning to Zach, "You knew about this! Why didn't you tell me? My god you're just as bad as him." I turned to Grant next, "And you, what the hell is wrong with you? What is going on, and honestly if you don't start giving me answers I will beat your ass so hard that you'll have to get an new surgically put on." Grant just glared at me.

"Cammie, this is not the time. You need to leave and get out of here. As for Zach, he wasn't permitted to tell you, the less you knew the better." Grant put his hand up to his ear, then swore in Arabic. "Cammie, you need to go. Now. The Circle has a lock on your location and they're on their way here now. Jonas is two hallways down. Make a right then another right and he should be in the door with the stain in the bottom left hand corner. Get there and don't get caught. We'll meet you back at Gallagher." Grant shoved us out the door then sprinted in the opposite direction.

We followed Grant's directions and found Jonas typing away on a computer. Nothing new, except the room was flashing red, due to my escape.

"Jonas!" I yelled, breaking him out of his trance. He was mumbling something, that's when I saw the comms in his ear. So there are more of them.

"Cammie come here. So the plan is that there are four main exits in this base. None of them pretty. However, there's a fifth alternative exit that only four people know about." He showed us a blueprint of the base and pointed to where we were and then the four main exits. "This," he said pointing to a small blue dot, no more than two rooms away from us, "is where you guys will be escaping."

"What about you and Grant, what will you two do? Where are we anyways? Jonas, I won't leave you guys. Who else is here? You said there were four people who knew about this exit." I rambled to Jonas, Zach just studied the blue print with a careful eye.

"Cammie most of that's not important, all you need to know is that you're still in Virginia, get back to Gallagher and don't leave. Grant and I will meet you there; you have nothing to worry about. Now, go!" Jonas commanded us. Zach grabbed my hand and we launched out the door.

Sprinting to the door, I yanked on the handle, but it was locked. My adrenaline was pumping and my brain was on act not think mode. I lifted my leg up and swiftly brought it down on the door handle causing it to break off. The door swung open revealing a hatch. I threw open the hatch and jumped down, not bothering with the ladder. Zach followed soon after, but landed with a little more trouble. His ankle twisted and he collapsed on the ground.

"Zach, we're so close, I can almost feel it. You have to push through. You. Can. Do. This." He limped towards me.

"Cammie, I've been living in this base since before I can remember, you should go. You need to escape, tell everyone what you know. Leave me behind. I can deal with the torture; I have been all my life. Just go." Zach pleaded. I looked into his emerald eyes and I could see them welling up with tears. I wasn't leaving him.

"I am not leaving you!" I shouted, "You're coming with me." I pulled on his good arm, trying to force him to the ladder on the opposite side of the long hall.

"No!" he shouted at me, "Just leave me, I'm useless, I'm not even trained!"

That's when I did something that Cammie the Chameleon would never do. I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him. He was surprised at first then he eagerly returned the kiss. I pulled away and pulled him towards he ladder. He wasn't resisting anymore, I think he was more surprised that I would kiss him. Especially at a time like this.

We made it the base of the ladder and I forced him up first, so that was I knew that he would come with me. He had trouble getting up the rungs with one hand, but with a little push from me, he managed to make it to the top. I began to hear shouts echoing in the hall. _Crap, they've found us_ I thought. Scrambling up the ladder, I grabbed Zach's good hand and he hoisted me up the last few rungs. There was another hatch at the top and Zach and I closed it as quickly as we could. We locked it in place and kept running. I could tell we were under ground because of the musky scent and the damp, cold air. We ran for two miles up a spiraling ramp when we finally reached the top. Zach looked nervous, this would be his first time seeing the open sky, smelling the fresh air, feeling he cool breeze, just living.

The door had two metal handles on it, but nothing more. Pushing open the doors, I was met with a blast of cool air. I sprinted out and into some bushes that lay a couple of yards away. Zach was slower to follow. He slowly left the hole and halfway between the door and me he stopped. I really wanted to know what he was thinking. He took a deep breath of air. His face transformed from that of a boy who had seen too much, knew too much, and experienced too much to a seven year old at the carnival. I smiled and he opened his eyes. They were filled with so much light and joy than he looked like he'd explode.

He looked over at me and a giant smile came across his face. He sprinted over and scooped me up spinning me around.

"We did it!" he exclaimed, "We're out. We-we- we can do anything!"

I smiled at him, his looked like nothing could rain on his parade, nothing, not even getting hit by lightning. My smile transformed into a frown though when I realized where we were. Yes we were in Virginia, but this was probably one of the worst things that could happen.

"Cam, Cammie, what's wrong?" Zach asked me worried.

"Zach, do you know where we are?" I questioned him.

"Virginia?" he said, but it was more of a question than an answer.

"Yes we are in Virginia, but do you know what that building over there is?" He shook his head no. "It the CIA Langley headquarters. The Circle is right underneath the CIA's main base."

His face became horror struck as he figured out what I was saying. We shared a brief glance and did what we were told.

We ran.


	12. Home is Where the Heart Is

**I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I just got finished with the most horrible project ever known to mankind History day **_**shudder**_**. Anyways school has been really hectic, like I just totally failed my last geo test. But ya I guess that's no excuse, but this weekend we had to drive to LA and back…twice, so I wrote this chapter then. I know it's not nearly long enough to make up for the time I've been gone but it's something. I'm not really sure where I'm going now…so as of right now this story is improve. AS for those of you who were confused on the Circle under the CIA thing so basically they were so far underground that the CIA never suspected they were right underneath their noses the entire time. And remember those four exits I mentioned earlier that weren't pretty, well ya they let out far away from the base that's how the CIA didn't know people were coming out of the base. Anyways I have a little contest of sorts. IF you guess who the fourth person who knew about the escape exit was the next chapter will be dedicated to you. Yes the person was mentioned in the story the third person was Joe Solomon if you guys didn't know. Also I need to work on my valentine for Zach ;) he's going to send me one back super excited. Sorry really long AN but I felt it was kinda necessary. Anyways, Read, Enjoy, Review. **

We did exactly as Grant told us, running back to Gallagher. We knew that it was going to take longer because we couldn't do anything to fix Zach's broken arm. After the exhilaration of reaching the outside world and escaping the Circle, we hitchhiked for hours taking different routes and trucks to get back to Gallagher. Security had definitely been upgraded since I left. I saw twice as many guards patrolling the campus, and noticed about fifty times the amounts of cameras, and I bet I'm missing a few. There was definitely no walking through the front door.

I grabbed Zach's good arm and lead him into Roseville. Our only hope of getting back into Gallagher was using the secret passage Macey and I used to tail my sisters sophomore year.

We ran over to the football stadium. Images of Josh, Carson, and Mr. Solomon came flooding back to me, and I almost collapsed in hysterics. Zach put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and silently nodded to me. I'm sure that if anyone saw us right now, two rag-tag kids in dirty clothes with a copious amount of injuries. I searched around and was able to find the entrance back into Gallagher. We traveled through the dusty passageway and arrived at the back of the painting. I listened for footsteps or any sign that there was someone on the other side. I heard nothing.

I motioned for Zach to follow me and gave the universal signal for him to be quite while doing so. I pushed open the painting and did a quick scan of the hall to make sure that no one was there. I heard giggling and shoved Zach back into the passage. The two girls stopped right in front of the painting and all previous giggling stopped.

"Where do you think she is now?" Voice number one asked.

"I bet she's probably off on some grand adventure, but when I get my bloody hands on her for not taking me with her, she'll wish she was still gone." Voice number two replied angrily, but I had a pretty good idea about who it was, being that there's only been one British Gallagher girl…ever.

"Remember when she broke me out of this place and we tailed you guys on the CoveOps mission?" A third voice added.

"I'd rather not, you scared us half to death there Mace," The first voice reprimanded.

"I know, I just miss her, I want her to come home." Macey replied. Little did they know I was listening no more than a foot away.

"Come on, we're late for COW" Liz told them. I could hear the sadness dripping from their voice, the heartbreak that I caused. I wanted so badly to just jump out and scream, "Here I am! I'm safe!" but I had to restrain myself.

Hearing the last of their footsteps recede,, I pushed the painting open again and pulled Zach with me. He was cradling his arm, and I could tell that the pain was immense.

"Were those your friends?" he asked me.

"Ya, but probably not for much longer, once they find out that I came back and didn't tell them first I'm as good as dead." I replied shrugging my shoulders. Everything Carson had told me started flooding back, and I wanted so much to talk to them about it, fix the friendship I had so selfishly ruined.

"So, where are we going?" Zach inquired.

"We need to talk to my mom." Right now we were in the Hall of History, which was close to by where my mom's office was. We stuck to the walls and tried to blend as much as we could. When we reached my mom's room, I nervously knocked on the door. There was no immediate response, but who answered the door wasn't who I expected it to be.

"Abby?" I asked.

"Cam?" She stared at me with a look of complete disbelief. After that, she went into full on spy mode. She wasn't my loveable aunt who had lost a niece; no, no she was Abby Cameron, top FBI agent, and kick-butt spy. "Come in, you have people waiting."

I stepped in my mother's office, and that's when Abby saw Zach. "You," she warned, "You little- I knew she never should have trusted you! You got her taken! You got her locked up!" She was about to lunge for Zach when I screamed "Abby!"

"Cam?" Three voices echoed behind us. Bex, Macey, and Liz were all standing there behind us. Well, actually, Bex and Macey were carrying Liz and her uniform was soaked in blood.

"Girls," Abby said, composing herself, "What are you doing out of class?"

"Erm, well," Macey stuttered, "Liz got a paper cut, like a _really_ bad paper cut and we were taking her to the nurse. Cam, is that really you?"

"That is not of piority. Ms. Baxter, Ms. McHenry, please escort Ms. Sutton to the nurse and return to your class. _No questions asked._ If you mention anything about what just happened to any of your peers, _especially_ Ms. Walters, you will be expelled, given tea, and returned to normal life." Bex, Macey and Liz gulped and quickly pushed pass us.

"Now, Cameron, Zachary, follow me." Abby lead us into my mother's office and told us to sit down.

"Abby it's no-" I began, but was quickly cut off by Abby.

"What do you think you're doing? Especially with him? Where did you go Cameron, you went MIA after the paintball game Townsend lead you on. We told people you ran away, but we need to know what happened right from the start. Lastly, why I shouldn't call the FBI, M16, CIA, or the NCA right now to have _him_ arrested and put on death row. "

"Abby, it's not that simple. There's some basic information you need to know first. First, yes this is Zach, but no this isn't the Zach you know."

"Squirt that doesn't make any sense." Abby said while shaking her head.

"Just tell me that you'll believe everything I say first. Also, I need two people to come here right now before I tell you anything."

"I can't promise I'll believe everything, but I'll try. And who do you need."

"I need you to call up Grant and Jonas, they said that they'd meet me back here. That's really the only reason I came back, I can't risk putting all of you guys in danger just for my own selfish purposes. There's also critical information that you need."

"Cam, Grant and Jonas left with the rest of the Blackthorn Boys. We haven't seen them. After you went missing, Dr. Steve called all the Blackthorn boys back because it was too dangerous for them to stay here. I can try to contact them to see if we can get them here, but even so, the soonest I'll be able to get them here is tomorrow, and in a spy school, even you can't stay hidden for that long." Abby informed me. They're not here? Where are they? This isn't good.

"But, they said they'd meet me there. Alert the teachers and the guards, tell them to keep an eye out for them." I commanded. They have to be okay. I knew it was a horrible idea to leave them behind. I never should have trusted Grant when he said they'd be okay.

"Cam, you said you had critical information you need to give me. If it's as important as you make it out to be, I need to know. What is so important?"

"Let me start from the beginning. Just tell me you'll believe everything." I pleaded to her.

"Fine, Squirt, I'll try." Thus began my tale. I told Abby about being kidnapped by Carson, about being tortured by him and his mother, meeting Zach, and finally our escape.

"So, let me get this strait. There is a _Circle_ base _under_ the CIA Langley headquarters?" I nodded my head. "This is not good, this is very not good. Cam, got to your old room, stay there and don't come out. I need to make some calls. As for you, Zach, or whatever your name is. Go with her, but know, I see all."

"Abby, Zach's arm is still broken though, we need to get it treated." I reminded her.

"Yes, yes, I'll send someone to fix it. Just go." She pointed to the door, and Zach and I took that as our signal _leave or I'll make you leave_.

Zach made our way up to my room, carefully avoiding my sisters. We made it to my room and I saw that it was empty. My stuff was all still there, but Macey's closet, Liz's computer, and Bex's practice dummy were all gone. Did they really move out? I slowly stalked to my bed and collapsed on its fluffy wonderfulness. Zach came and sat beside me, still cradling his arm. No more than two minutes later, a nurse came in. She looked young, and new. I'd never seen her before. She quickly tended to Zach's arm, setting the bone then wrapping it in gauze. Then, as quickly as she came, she was gone.

"We can't stay." I told Zach after ten minutes of waiting.

"What?" He asked clearly surprised.

"We can't stay," I repeated. This was the most obvious place for us to go after our escape. They're going to come after us. We have to leave."

"But not right now." Zach objected. "Jonas and Grant could be on their way, plus neither of us are in traveling condition. We need more time."

"I guess your right, but I'm nearly positive that Grant and Jonas aren't coming. Something just doesn't feel right. We have a week, maybe less." I relented. We can't stay though; they'll come for us again. Then we'll escape again and they'll come again. Nothing we do anymore can be permanent.

Zach and I sat in silence for an hour before someone brought in food for us. This was worse than house arrest, because then at least you're not stuck in the same room _forever_. I changed out of my old torn clothes and into a new uniform. Zach was kind of harder to deal with because obviously I'm a girl and he's a guy. I found a super big sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants and gave them to him. I would have given him the jacket that Carson gave me, but I decided against it. It was so strange; doesn't the boy usually give the girl the clothes? Anyways, after we got cleaned up, our wounds tended to, and a good meal in us, we just sat on the couch, pondering over the events that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

"Cam," Zach said breaking me out of my thoughts, "I-I need to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot," I responded causally.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" I questioned.

"In that tunnel, why didn't you leave me behind? I'm just dead weight anyways. I've had minimal training, and-and now you have to lug me around where ever you go."

"You were there from the start, when all hell broke loose, and I fully intend on taking you through it and back right there with me." Was my casual response.

"I get that, but I mean, the _other _thing." Oh, he was referring to the kiss.

"I had to get you to move, didn't I?" I know it sounded harsh, but I didn't quite know my self.

"I know, but it's just-I mean- just- ugh," he said frustrated, "never mind."

"No, I want to know what you were talking about." I sat up to look him. He was pacing around the room, rubbing his cast subconsciously.

"It's nothing, never mind. Just forget I said anything."

"No, tell me. I've been kept ignorant for too long, if you have something to say, I want to know what it is. I want answers when I ask questions so. Now. What did you mean?"

He turned towards me, his face holding mixed emotions. Frustration, anger, compassion, irritation, et cetra. I know I should have expected what happened next, but I was sleepy from the food and fatigue. Zach turned to me, grabbed my by the hand and forcefully placed his lips on mine. I was taken by so much surprise I had no time to react, so I stood there…like an idiot. Zach released me from his grip and stared at me.

"I just had to know how you felt."

Then, he turned away from me, and left.


	13. The Search Begins

**Hope this makes up for the long wait before. Since no one guessed about who the fourth person was this is just a regular chapter, no special dedication. Also, i changed the summary for the story, i think i like this one better, but if you guys don't think it fits the story let me know. Anyways hope you like it. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

Zach left. He just walked out the front door and left one of the most highly guarded grounds in the world. That little hypocrite! He's the one that wanted to stay here! Not me! I knew we should have left right after we got his arm fixed, but _noooo_ he had to go off and kiss me. Why is the male gender so confusing? They need a handbook. I wonder if Liz ever finished that boy-to-English translator, because I could _totally_ use that right now.

I had to let Abby know what happened, but I can't leave this room. Well, I could, Zach did, and he didn't have any training. He was also lucky…in a way, because when I had my attempt at an escape I was compromised by none other than some of the very people I was hoping I _wouldn't_ have too see on my visit. My three roommates were standing outside my old dorm door.

"Were you really just trying to leave again?" Macey asked heartbroken. "You didn't even say hello, or anything, you were just going to leave us again! Not knowing what happened! What is wrong with you?"

Bex did what Bex does best next after Macey's explosion. She punched me in the face. Ow. Then, she gripped me in such a tight hug that I'm pretty sure she broke two of my ribs. Liz just stood there though. She didn't move, she didn't hug me; she just stood and stared. She held her laptop close to her chest, turned her back and walked way. Not a word was spoken. Liz was always the sweet one; she was the one that listen when you needed someone to talk to. She was the one that would give you the skin off her back in a heartbeat, but now, now she just looked, left, and was gone.

"Liz I-" I managed to stutter out. She didn't turn though. Clutching her computer closer, she broke from a walk into a sprint down the hall.

"She's really broken Cam." Macey softly spoke

"You guy's I've been horrible. I know about what's going on with you. You've tried to avoid telling me, but come on I'm a spy, I find these things out." I sighed. "I don't deserve you guys, and you're better off without me. Bex I know that your parents are on the verge of divorce. And Ma-"

"Not verge, are. It was made official two nights ago." Bex murmured.

"Bex, I'm so sorry, I'm a horrible friend, I never even bothered to ask. I didn't even notice until, um, _someone_, told me that you were having trouble at home. I should have been there, and I should have been a better friend, but I wasn't and I can't turn back time. Unless Liz has been doing some unofficial experiment I should know about." I tried to joke and lighten the mood, but Macey and Bex were having none of that. I took a deep breath and continued.

"Macey, I know about your mom. I don't know how much you've told everyone else, but I do know what's going on. You need help. Talk to my mom, talk to Abby, they're just as much your family as they are mine." Macey's eyes got big and told me, just stop talking, don't say anything more, but I continued on.

"Macey, what's going on, what is Cammie talking about?" Bex interrogated.

"I've been having some differences with my mom, and they don't always end in verbal arguments." Bex's eyes widened getting the message Macey was conveying.

"Why didn't you say anything? This is huge! We need to tell someone, do you know what would happen if you were to go on a mission and you were hurt? Nothing good! That's what." Bex ranted, "You need t-"

"_I_ don't need to do anything." Macey sneered in response. "I've been on my own since before Gallagher and I don't need your help to fix things now." Bex and I were both shocked at Macey's harshness. "Besides, this isn't about me. This is about Cammie. Why were you leaving again?"

"I'm sorry guys, but I'm not putting you in any more danger than you're already in. You can't know anything about what I've been through since I saw you last." I replied sorrowfully.

"But you just got here, there must be a reason you're leaving so soon. I know you, Cam, I know that if you can you won't stay in a place very long, but you definitely will stay there for some sort of a rest. You've been in a prison, held _captive_, may I remind you. You can't just leave for the bloody hell of it, it doesn't work like that." Bex scolded smugly.

"Zach left." I wasn't telling them anymore than that. "I need to go. So either you let me go willingly, or I leave by force. Tell Abby that Zach left, she'll get it. Just no more questions. I need to go guys."

"What is so important that you can't stay another night, get some rest, then go on your oh-so-important mission?" Macey screamed

"I can't tell you!" I screamed.

They were horror struck. "Fine, if you can't even tell you _sisters_ what's happening, then you won't get our help or sympathy. Goodbye Cameron." Macey and Bex turned away from me. I just ruined the last good thing that existed in my life. Way. To. Flipping. Go.

I managed to escape with the hair on my neck. Those lasers are not fun, need I remind you. I had stopped by Abby's (my mom's?) office to see if any new information had aroused about the next step in taking down the Circle. I didn't get anything though; all I heard was some murmuring, then a lot of yelling.

I quickly sprinted to the secret passage that I came through, but my access was quickly denied. Apparently Abby had remembered that this is how I escaped the first time. Wonderful. I have to find another way out. If Zach somehow managed to escape without sounding some kind of alarm it has to be simple. My gosh if I'm beaten by a semi-civilian I will seriously turn in my fake ID and passport and go be hobo on the streets of New York.

I checked every secret passage I knew about, and found some new ones at that. Time was ticking though. Class would be over in less than a minute and I was still out in the open. Abby will have a freak out if she finds out I blew my cover. That's when it hit me. There was a passage that I hadn't checked, and there was a possibility that it could lead out, but I'm not sure. The problem is that it's going to be nearly impossible to get to it. I mean, the only entrances were in the Grand Hall and Madame Dabney's room.

Everyone had dinner after this, so the Grand Hall was out of the question. Once I was sure that everyone was secure in the Grand Hall, I set my plan into action. I guessed I would only have about ten minutes to get into passage and get away, because the lady who gave us food would be arriving around then. I had to work fast.

I ran to Madame Dabney's room as fast as my legs could carry me, and searched for the lever to open the passageway back up. I was intercepted though, because one of the worst things, next to falling in love (check), could happen to a spy. I was compromised.

"You're really leaving again?" I heard a light southern bell chime behind me. I turned face to face with a girl with strait-bob-cut hair and puffy, red, teary, eyes.

"Liz, just let me ex-" I began

"No, you don't have that right anymore," She snapped in response.

"Liz, you have to listen to me. Please." I begged. If I had to, I would get down on my hands and knees, just to let her listen to me.

"You left." She reminded me. Her was tone soft, but her words sharper than knives.

"I didn't leave," I contradicted her, "I was taken. I was kidnapped, and I came back."

"But you're leaving again." Liz was hurt; the pain was showing clearly in her voice. Spy or not, there are certain emotions you can't keep hidden.

"If you knew why I was leaving, you'd understand," I snapped at her. "Do you think I'm running for me? Do you think that I'm _that_ selfish to only run away for me? No, I'm leaving so _you're_ safe. So that all my sisters are safe. Besides, there are people who still need to keep promises they made to me."

"And you're going in without _any_ backup, or at least someone to know where you are? Cammie that's insane!" Liz collapsed into one of the tables Madame Dabney had set up. She put her face in her hands and let out a few shaky breaths. "You know she's gone?"

"I'm so sorry Liz, I know I should have been here comforting you. I know about everything now. I've been a horrible friend, worse than anything I could imagine. I was so self absorbed in my boy problems, I never even bothered to ask you if something was wrong. You guys deserve better than me."

"She died the day you disappeared. I want to talk to someone, but Macey was busy with her mom, Bex had a meeting with her parent's divorce lawyer, they're arguing over who get custody over her. My problem just seemed to inferior to theirs, I- it just didn't feel like such I big deal. Then you and Zach disappeared, and the boys were called back to Blackthorn, and I was just so confused. Once you disappeared, we dropped everything to find you."

"Liz, how could you think that your mom _dying _wasn't important?" No wonder she was always so quite, she never had anyone to talk to, and we didn't even bother trying.

"Cam, I know you're in a rush, I know you have to go. So say it, say whatever you want to say to me, to your sisters, I'll relay the message. Just, please, tell me where you're going and why. I know that you didn't tell Macey and Bex, and now they're not talking to anyone. I feel so alone. I- I- I just need someone, anyone. Jonas cut off contact, and I-" Liz broke into tears, and I sat next to her, placing one arm over her in and letting her sobs soak into my clean uniform.

"I'm sorry Lizzie, I want to, I really do, but I can't put you at that risk." I consoled.

"Bull shit!" She yelled frustrated at me. Liz never cursed, never. I…words could not describe the emotions I was feeling right now.

"I'm sorry Lizzie, but I'll just tell you this. Either I come back successful, or I don't come back at all. I love you Lizzie, you and all our sisters. I have to go though. _When_ I come back though, you'll be the first person I come see, then I'll tell you everything." I stood up and walked back over to the wall.

"Don't bother." Liz whispered to me. That was it. All my ties were done, none of my sisters trusted me, _loved_ me anymore. I was completely alone. All the better.

"Goodbye Liz." I pulled the lever and sprinted though the hall.

The wind rushed past my face and I sprinted through the twisting turns of Gallagher. The air was becoming less stale, and I felt light breezes blow through my hair. My feet made little sound as they crushed on the gravel of the passage. I finally reached the opposite side of the tunnel, seeing the blue sky, spotted with dots of cloud. Hiding in the passage, analyzing the guard patter, I realized there was a two second blind zone, where both the cameras and the guards wouldn't be able to see me. My best bet was to sprint to the tree near by then climb up.

_Five, four, three, two, one_. I thought. I sprinted across the field, and then scurried up the tree. The tree was located by the wall that shielded the secrets of Gallagher from the rest of the world. I turned around to get one more glimpse of the place she once called home. The place where her sisters and her grew up. The place where her loved one lay, safe and sound. I was about to jump out of the tree and begin my mission to rescue Zach (if he needs rescuing), Grant, and Jonas, when a hand grabbed my ankle. I nearly fell out of the tree.

"So I heard you going to track down the Circle." The voice stated.

"Tyler?"


	14. What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

**Hey everyone I'm so sorry I haven't been updating recently, but I haven't exactly had a whole lot of time to write. For all of you who are still reading this yes I know it's not a very good excuse but honestly I've only had about an hour to write each night and I go to bed at midnight every night because I'm trying to write and post. This chapter probably wasn't worth the wait, but I'm going to try uploading another chapter by the end of this weekend. I can't make any promises because I totally bombed my last geo test so, it might be bye-bye laptop. But I'm still going to try to update more often and write more on weekends. Also if anyone knows how to request someone to be their beta, that information would be most helpful. Another note, Tyler is not a new character if you reread the first few chapters, you see he was the boy that Cammie fought before she was captured by Carson and the boy that was going to be bunking with Grant, Jonas, and Carson (Zach?). Anyways so sorry and I hope that you guys are still following my story, if not then I understand because it's completely my fault. Happy belated Leap Day, Read, Enjoy, Review.**

"Not happy to see me Cam?" Tyler asked me, releasing my ankle.

"No, not exactly, what are you doing here?" I repositioned myself in the tree so that I was facing him and there was a less likely chance of my falling on my face and blowing this entire operation before it even started.

"You were seriously going to go in alone? Against a world wide terrorist organization whose main goal is to basically kill you? Without _any_ backup?" Well, when you put it that way…

"Um, I guess, but I can't drag anyone else into this, it's too dangerous. Why do you care anyway Tyler, I barely know you and hopefully you barely know me." He sighed.

"Do you really think I put in all that work just to get you out of that hell hole just so you could run right back in? No, I don't think so. You're not going after the Circle." I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued, "At least not without back up. Either I come with you, or I blow your entire mission right here, right now."

"You have a sick mind, no wonder you work for the Circle." Glaring at him, I pondered over his ultimatum. It really didn't seem like I had a choice, but I had to go. Plus, I don't exactly _know_ where I'm going. If anyone was going to help me, why not a Circle-double-agent.

"Fine," I relented, "You're in. But if you get hurt so help me I will personally bring you back and kill you myself. Don't me regret taking you with me. Also, if anyone finds out that you came with me, you will be locked in a room with Dr. Fibbs and a _long_ list of experiments to test."

Tyler raised his hands in defense. I turned and hopped over the wall that protected so many secrets. Landing on the balls of my feet, I quickly tucked and rolled allowing Tyler and adequate amount of room to jump. His landing was a little less graceful than mine. In other words he landed on his face.

Rubbing his neck, Tyler stood up and faced me.

"So, oh great Chameleon, what's the plan? Before you tell me though, I think I need to know what happened since I last saw you during the CoveOps assignment. _Everything_ that'd happened. I know something because I have friends at the base, but I need to know ever detail, from who you were with at what time, to what they fed you and how much." He swung his arms in large circle to relieve some of the impact from the jump.

I began to string my tail, leaving out some of the more, um, _intimate_, parts that I did not wish to relieve. Tyler noticed though, he knew I was leaving out part, but didn't say anything, but if he was going on this mission he deserved the right to know, just, not yet. I can't fully trust him yet.

"And now we're here." I finished my recollection and he looked troubled.

"So right now, you want to try and find Zach, am I correct?" I nodded my head, "But you only saw him leave the room." Once again I nodded. Where was he going with this? "Are you sure actually _left_, not just went to another room in Gallagher?" I face palmed myself, how did I not think of that! I'm so stupid! Zach's not experienced enough to get through Gallagher's defenses; you could be the luckiest person in the world and still not get through. If he had actually tried to leave, he surely would have gotten caught, somehow, someway.

"Glad I came along now aren't you?" Tyler smiled with a mischievous look his eye. Were all Blackthorne boys this cocky? I think so.

Tyler and I managed to leave Roseville without being spotted by anyone, especially a certain ex-boyfriend, thank God. With much complaining, we managed to reach a bus station about a mile past the city boarders.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Tyler asked for what seemed like the millionth time (well fifty-third but who's counting?).

"Did I ask you to come along? No, I don't think so," I countered sarcastically. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be a spy? Spies don't complain now do they? So suck it up and keep on walking."

"Okay Ms. Sarcastic, how do you plan on paying for the bus?" Tyler smirked again, knowing that I didn't have any money on hand.

"I'm a chameleon, what's your plan?" I can sneak into anywhere at anytime without being seen. Well, maybe not elevators and digging through trash cans to find bottles for my non-existent cat.

"You're seriously going to leave me to fend for myself? Wow, aren't you just the _sweetest _thing?" He rolled his eyes and pulled a wallet out of his back pocket. "I think that this might be a little bit easier."

With a loud screech and a gust of air, the bus pulled up and opened its doors. The driver was chomping madly on a piece of gum and wearing the stereotypical blue bus driver uniform. His grey hair parted slightly to the left and was thinning; some spots already blank.

"Where to?" He said, his voice thick with a New Jersey accent.

"Do you stop by the Smithsonian or any place near it?" I asked him, imitating a Texas accent to match the spare fake I.D. that I always keep hidden in my back pocket. I know our skirts have pockets, what's more awesome than that? Pretty much nothing, or you know, being a spy that keeps a cover of a snobby-rich-boarding-school girl. No, I think the pockets thing is better.

"Closest I can get you is the Lincoln Memorial." He said popping gum.

"That's perfect, thank you so much, how much is it?" Little did people know, Abraham Lincoln delivered a coded message in the Gettysburg address to warn hidden Russian spies about an oncoming assassination of the director of operations at the Russian Embassy. Bet you didn't know there were Russian spies stationed in America during the Civil War. I also bet you didn't know a lot about real "American" history.

"For you and your little laggie, eighteen bucks." Wow, expensive bus ride.

"I got it," Tyler interjected handing the money to the driver. We walked to the back of the bus and the drive shut the hissing doors. It was mostly empty, besides a hobo asleep in the seat behind the driver. He was so still I seriously considered he was dead.

"So, D.C? Why are we going to D.C?" That's a good question. I have no idea, there's just something in my gut telling me there's something in D.C. that we need to find.

"Instinct." I answered. I placed my head on the window and tried to close my eyes to get some sleep, but my dreams were constant interrupted with visions of the torture room, the hurt faces of my friends and family, and Zach. The weight of what had happened the past few days was really starting to take its toll on me. I could feel the uncomfortable springs of the bus seats digging into my back and pushing on the bruises and cuts left by Mrs. Goode. The cuts on my face had healed mostly, and the nurse who fixed Zach's arm brought me some of Dr. Fibbs skin-again cream to cover up the scars. Some of the cuts were too deep to be covered up though; those were mainly the ones on my legs and arms.

After a while I managed to doze off into a dreamless sleep, when only seconds later (maybe) I was rudely awaken by Tyler.

"Yo, Chameleon, we're here, I hope your gut's right because if we're going to be staying the night here in D.C. I'm going to be out of cash by tomorrow afternoon. It's about seven right now, so we're going to have to check into a motel or something. We can follow your 'gut' tomorrow." I nodded silently and shakily got up. Both my legs had fallen asleep from sitting in such an awkward position on the bus seat for so long. We managed to find a hotel relatively close to the Lincoln Memorial.

Arriving in the room, I was relieved to find there were two beds. It might not be Gallagher status when I saw this motel wasn't the _cleanest_, but at this point in time, I really don't care. I collapsed onto one of the beds and began to drift off, but not to my surprise, only to be haunted by the ghosts of my past.

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><p><em>Stay strong baby girl, things may seem hard but they get better, be the brilliant person we raised you to be.<em>

* * *

><p>I woke up from my dream in a cold sweat. My hands gripped the blanket like I was strangling someone, and my breath was coming in short pants. Sweat drenched my forehead and back, and my eyes began to glaze over with tears. What did that mean? These dreams have been getting weirder since the beginning of this year and it's scaring me.<p>

"You okay Cam?" Tyler asked me groggily. He sat up and swayed a bit, as if he were on a ship. His eyes remained half lidded open, and he lazily stretched out his arms.

"I'm fine," I responded coolly, "Just a…bad dream. Get back to sleep, you'll need your rest for tomorrow." Tyler lied back down. His Blackthorne uniform was ruffled in odd spots, and the collar was pushed upright. This must have been their formal uniform because I've seen what they wear regularly, and that color does not look good on anyone. Who wears jump suits anyway? I had fallen asleep in my uniform as well and I could see my skirt was ruffled and my blouse was completely and utterly soiled from the bus ride. None of that really mattered though, all that I cared about now was my next move.

The words of my dream drifted in and out of my mind. _Were they some sort of coded message, or a warning, or just…. What did they mean?_ I pondered to myself for the better part of two hours, just lying there as the sun soon began to rise. I could tell I needed the sleep, but as I closed my eyes, repeated images of that night when Carson gave me his jacket, and everything seemed right flooded in. It wasn't the bloody scene that hurt, not the concussion or the fact my aunt was shot, it was the fact that I really couldn't trust anyone. Being a spy I always knew that, but it was never true until these past few weeks.

I know it was a bad idea but I really didn't think that having Tyler along with me was even better, so I did was I did best I left. I left him and continued on my own. After pick pocketing a few people, I managed to compile about one hundred dollars. I bought some make up (the cheap kind, sadly), new clothes, a bottle of spray tan, and some hair dye.

Standing in the single-person bathroom by the Lincoln Memorial, I dyed my hair a dark black and pulled on the clothes I got. I used an eyeliner pencil to make it look like I had freckles. The spray tan made my skin about a shade darker. I washed my Gallagher blouse in the sink and put it on the handicap bar to dry. Luck for me, the blouse we have to wear for Gallagher doesn't have the insignia on it. After it finished drying, mostly, I slipped it back on and tucked it into a pair of jean shorts I bought. I pulled my hair into a ponytail after the dye finished drying. I looked like any other tourist, with a digital camera I picked up from the local newspaper stand.

I walked over to the Smithsonian from the Lincoln memorial, and was able to reach the main walkway by two o'clock in the afternoon. I did what I knew best and blended in. I took pictures of pointless things and stopped in random places. I didn't have much money left but I hadn't had anything to eat since leaving Gallagher. I found a small café and ordered a hot chocolate and some sort of pastry-donut thing. For now, I was going as Diana Lia, exchange student from Italy who spoke little to almost no English. Italian was one of my strongest languages so being Italian made it slightly easier.

The cashier called my name and I received my drink and went to sit out under some of the trees. I needed to figure out my next step. I was in D.C. okay where does that leave me? My instinct is leading me on a wild goose chase. That's when I saw it. I smirked knowing exactly where I had to go now. We're off to the "oh so wonderful world of Oz."

I threw my chocolate and napkin away in the near by trashcan and began to head over to the National Mall. Upon my arrival, I noticed that the Mall was super crowded, perfect for a chameleon. I decided to take the stairs up to the exhibit because Lord knows that the elevator here poses too many _unpleasant _memories.

I reached the glass podium where Dorothy's shoes were being displayed. _Come on_, I chanted to myself, _you keep on reappearing in my life, so there must be something about that's special_. I stared at the shoes so hard that I thought my brain or eyes might implode. There has to be some kind of meaning be hind them. I managed to count how many pieces of glitter there was on one of the shoes within an hour (there was 752000). The other shoe had 152120. Sometimes, codes can be hard and sometimes they can be easy, this one was easier, besides all the counting, but the message was clear and simple. Get out. I needed to leave and I needed to go now. I turned to leave from the exhibit and just get the heck out when I was stopped by a voice. It sent chills down my spine and caused every nerve in my body to tense up.

"Hello Cameron."

Game over.


	15. Game Over

**Sorry everyone for the extreme lack of updating. What's it been, almost three months? Gosh, that's depressing. Well I'm on summer vacation now, and I've made a promise to myself to update this story every week or every other week so I can update my other story How Long Does Forever Last too. That's the sequel to my first Gallagher Girls story Best Friends Together Forever. If you haven't HLDFL I said that this story was going to be put on a temporary halt because of school and other stuff. I also had major writer's block which I finally got over when it came to me in a dream (not joking even as cheesy as it sounds) Anyways, expect an update soon. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

Game over. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Stick a fork in me because I'm finished. Cooked. Sunk. Compromised. Anyway you put it, I'm completely and utterly screwed. How did I get compromised so easily? I was so careful; at least I thought I was.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" I managed to stutter out.

"Aw," Carson cooed, "Miss me Gallagher Girl?" People were filing out of the ruby slipper exhibit room, in a matter of minutes; it would just be Carson and me, alone.

"I'm asking you again," I repeated, "What are you doing here?" I turned and glared at him, that's when I noticed his leg wasn't broken anymore, there wasn't even a cast.

"Surprised to see me?" He smirked, I glared, et cetra. "I'll have a nasty scar but the scientists at the Circle came up with a solution that grows bone back within a matter of hours when placed directly on bone." He lifted up his pant leg and I saw a long, red, angry scar running from his ankle to his knee.

"How'd you find me?" I questioned.

"Spy," he replied pointing to himself, "Besides, Gallagher Girl, you should have figured it out by now, I have eyes and ears _everywhere_." I thought about who I'd recently come in contact with: Macey, Bex, Liz, my mom, Abby, Zach, Tyler, and a hobo. Tyler! He wouldn't betray me like that would he? But, I guess, in the case of espionage, I should have come to learn trust no one but yourself.

"Tyler?" I guessed aloud. In response, Carson smirked. I felt part of my heart break, not because I had any feelings for Tyler like _that_, but because I had semi-trusted him, and that was a feat for me.

"Why do you want me?" I asked. I was tired of running, tired of not knowing. I was going to get answers and I was going to get them now.

"I've already told you Gallagher Girl," Carson smirked, "It's your job to find out." By now the slipper exhibit had completely emptied out, we were alone.

"I'm not going with you." I deadpanned.

"I didn't expect you to. That's why I'm taking you. You don't exactly have a choice." Carson reached out to grab me, but I yanked away and stood in a fighting position.

"Aw, getting a little feisty Gallagher Girl?"

"I'm not going down without a fight. Whether you manage to capture me or not, know that I will _never_ cooperate with you. I will be the bane of your existence." I threatened him, and then threw the first blow. I went for his leg, where I knew it would still be weak, despite what he told me. Carson realized his disadvantage though; causing him to make protecting his leg his main priority.

"Whether you like it or not, you're coming back with me, dead or alive." I stopped fighting for a minute, a fatal mistake though. Something's changed. If they want me dead or alive, that means the Circle has gotten what they wanted. Now I'm just a loose end that needs tying up; that means that everything can go wrong now. I used to think that the Circle would think twice about killing, giving me at least a little bit of protection, but that's gone now.

"Surprised Gallagher Girl? That's right, we have what we need, and now you're a liability. Whether I kill you now or later, you'll end up dead." Carson went for a kick to my side.

"I'm not going with you. You can't make me. I'll be dead before you take me." I sneer. Flattening on the ground, I swiftly swing my legs around, thus knocking Carson down to my level. Any stragglers who had been admiring the exhibit had quickly filed out when they heard Carson and I screaming.

"I can manage that," Carson hopped up and was once again on his feet. His fists were raised in an attacking position. His signature smirk was plastered on his face. I attempted to regain my composure and stand up, however, Carson was quicker than I. His foot slammed down onto my right wrist thoroughly breaking it. Letting out a surprised gasp, I managed to rise to my feet. I cradled my arm, but my defense was weakened. Carson's leg swung out pounding into my stomach. I heard a sickening snap ask one of my ribs broke. My head spun as my I crumpled to the floor.

Carson took advantage of this, placing his knee on my stomach and securing both my wrists under his hands. His palms were warm. The warmth reminded me of the time he lead me through the tombs at Blackthorn, how he shielded me from harm, how he was there for me in my darkest times. I felt the tears well in my eyes as the feelings of betrayal and despair washed over me. A good operative knows when they've been compromised, and I was finished.

Carson leaned his head towards my ear. "I don't really want to do this." He whispered. Breath hot in my ear, I felt his grip on my arms loosen. No matter, I was unable to move, my fear and shock left me petrified underneath his harsh grip.

"Then don't," I breathe back. His doesn't move. I can feel his breath against my skin as he exhales.

"The offer still stands Cammie," I wince at his use of my real name. It's different when Zach uses it, but when Carson says it, it only reminds me of our times before this crazy year. "Run away with me."

My mouth goes dry and I feel my head begin to throb. I can feel my eyelids slowly dropping closed. However, before I drift into unconsciousness, I'm able to manage a quite, "No." The last thing I hear before I finally end my cognizant thought are Carson's final words.

"You don't have a choice."


	16. Leaving Means Going

**Hey everyone, sorry for going MIA on you. I just started school and I've been swamped. I'm taking four honors classes including one that's for a math class one year above what I should be taking. Plus, I ran for student council, so that took up a butt load of time, didn't win though :( I've also been busy with high school and club soccer and my science teacher decided that two hours of homework every night was a good idea, and I have science every other day -_-. Anyways, hoping to update all my stories tomorrow. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

I don't exactly understand what happened next. Carson was as confusing as ever; his words sashaying through my brain, igniting every amount of confusion I had stored. I was leaving and I had no other choice.

Compared to the last time I woke up in a moving car going someplace I didn't know; this time was much more enjoyable. I was tucked comfortably in the passenger seat of a Prius. The air conditioner blew on me, which was nice compared to the blazing heat outside. We must have been somewhere in the south because the heat was different than the heat we got in Roseville, plus there was an off-ramp saying "Texas state boarder 3 miles" on my right. I attempted to sit up and stretch, but found my hands cuffed together in front of me.

"Where are we going?" I questioned. It was no use looking over to see who was driving. I knew who it was. I pretended to crack my neck, attempting to see if I had any bobby pins in my hair that I could shake out to undo my handcuffs. No such luck; I should have known Carson would be smarter than that.

"Someplace you've always wanted to go. But we couldn't go to any of the airports in Virginia, too close to Gallagher. We'd get compromised." He spoke with a 'duh' tone then smirked, however, he kept his eyes strictly on the road. I knew he felt my glare on him, as his weight shifted slightly from left to right. I made him uncomfortable; that was important to keep in mind.

"You realize they won't let me through security with these on, right?" I lifted up my hands signaling to my handcuffs.

"You'd be surprised at the connections the circle has Gallagher Girl." He let out a slight chuckle as I _hrumph_ed and turned away from him. I hated the fact that I still knew nothing of him, yet he knows every detail of my past, present, and future.

I looked over at Carson and attempted to poke the sleeping bear. "So what's your plan oh-so-clever-one? Are you going to bring me to my dream vacation, torture and interrogate me, then dump my body in some obscure river with my prints removed? Or maybe call the Gallagher Academy and hold me for ransom. What horrid 'evil villain' movie plot do you have planned out for me? Just let me remind you, the good guy _always_ wins." His grip on the wheel was so tight; I could see his knuckles going white. His usual smirk was gone and replaced by a nasty snarl that could scare away fully-grown man.

The car screamed to a stop and I noticed that we had arrived at an airport. So we were flying somewhere, but that left basically everywhere open as options. All except for outer space (which I highly doubted we were going to be going to in the first place) and back to Virginia. We also probably wouldn't go back to any of the states around Virginia, lest the CIA be searching them for me. Then again, if they _were _going to thoroughly search for me, they'd search everywhere in their jurisdiction.

"Get out." Carson snarled.

"Aw," I cooed, as if I wasn't in deep enough. Then I continued to sneer at him. "Is the Hot Shot mad? I think I'll call you that now, seeing as the Circle thinks so highly of you. So what's the plan Hot Shot? You ready to turn me in? Are you going to go back to mommy and get your little evil reward? Maybe you'll get go meet another girl and screw her over like y-"

"Will you shut up already?" Carson snapped. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't _want_ to be the bad guy? Do you think I don't know what the Circle does is evil? Of course I know! You want to know why I know you never thought I knew that? It's because you're too blinded by your anger and fear and a hell of a lot more emotions to realize that I'm _rescuing _you!" He signed looking down at his hands. They slumped to his sides and he pressed his forehead against the steering wheel. "I just- I- I don't want to be the bad guy anymore." His voice faded out to a whisper towards the end. Tears welled in his eyes as he repeated once more: "I don't want to be the bad guy anymore."

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you." I demanded. Spies are excellent actors. Fake tears and fake regret come as easily to us as walking and talking do.

"Because you don't have a choice. The Circle doesn't know what I'm doing and they won't until it's too late. We're going off the grid. Do you remember last year how I asked you to run away with me? Well, that's what we're doing. We're leaving, getting away. We're going to go somewhere the circle can't find us and I'm going to protect you every minute of the way."

"If you really want me to go with you," I said, "Then take my handcuffs off me. I'll stay. I promise." Lies.

"I can't do that Gallagher Girl. I know you're lying. You're not as practiced as you think you are." He held up his ring finger on his right hand. There on his finger was the ring from Mr. Fibbs class last year. "It vibrated. Looks like someone needs some work." He laughed and then winked at me, a strange combination with his puffy eyes and red cheeks. A year ago that laugh and smirk would have made my heart flutter, but a year ago, I was sitting at dinner with my sisters dreading what language we'd be having to speak at dinner.

"Will you ever tell me where we're going?" I whined.

"You'll find out when we get there." Carson smirked once again, then left the car. Attempting to be a gentleman, Carson opened my door for me then bowed indicating for me to get out.

"Don't you think that people will think it's weird that I'm handcuffed?" I asked sarcastically.

"Do you really think people will care?" He quipped in return. I in turn, stuck my tongue out and stepped out of the car. Carson unloaded bags from the car: one for him and one for me, both small, both easy to escape with.

"Do I even want to know where you got my stuff?" I asked. I already knew the contents: clothes, cash, and concealment equipment.

"No, not really. By the way Gallagher Girl, nice kitten underwear." Carson winked and I felt my face heat up extremely.

Linking his arm through mine, Carson hailed a check in man. He spoke a series of words to the man that were too quiet for me to hear. The man subtly nodded, called another worker on his walkie-talkie, and then hauled our bags off into the distance. Another man, extremely similar looking to the first appeared not moments later. He grunted then I felt Carson tug on my arm to follow.

I had considered making my break for it now; to begin screaming and yelling, hoping to draw attention to myself so I could break free. However, I would not have such luck because right as I was about to open my mouth, Carson leaned over to me and whispered, "Don't do anything stupid, there are snipers everywhere and they can shoot you with needles that will stop your heart within seconds. Don't even think about it." I was about to protest when Carson interrupted me again, "I'm smarter than you give me credit for Gallagher Girl, I know you better than you think I do." I just glared and continued to follow.

The airport worker led us straight onto the tarmac. The plane was small, no larger than half a football field. A staircase was already set up for us and I was forced onto the plane. Inside was about as luxury as luxury can get. It looked extremely similar to Air Force 1 when my mom was offered a visit inside and decided to let me tag along.

"We've got about twenty six hours until our destination, so you might as well make your self comfortable." Carson said as he disappeared into the room behind a curtain.

My bag was left in the center of the plane. Laying it down, I began to examine the contents of the bag. I had the basic necessities, including toiletries, clothing, and money. I did notice, however, that there was no kitten underwear to be found.

Carson reappeared moments later in his pajamas. His hair was wet and he had a toothbrush in his mouth. Noticing me staring, he pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth and said, "What? Unlike some little princesses over here, I haven't done this in a bout three maybe four days. You were out cold for a while." That wasn't the exact reason I was staring though. I learned something new about Carson that day. He enjoys sleeping and traveling shirtless.

This is going to be a _really_ long flight.


	17. Destination or Damnation?

There are pros and cons to traveling to unknown destination with an extremely _hot_ spy boy who just so happens to prefer to travel shirtless. On the up side, spy boys have _amazing_ abs, on the downside this spy boy just so happens to be (possibly?) evil. Another con is that even after hours of begging he won't tell you where you're going, and then why you threaten him, he smirks, laughs, and then goes to his "private" quarters.

Carson showed me where the shower on the plane was, of course not without making a comment about my lack of sanitation. I wanted to punch him, but I was still hand cuffed. Once I stepped into the bathroom and the cuffs deactivated. It occurred to me that even if I wanted to escape now, I wouldn't be able to.

Stepping into the steamy shower was like stepping into a pool of cool water after being on fire. It felt amazing. As I scrubbed and scrubbed, each layer of filth, sweat, and blood felt like I was peeling away another harsh memory. Leaving the shower was almost painful, as I knew that I would soon be faced with a person estranged from myself. I examined myself in the full-length mirror. Cuts and bruises spotted my body, from my legs to my cheeks. My cuts had scabbed over and began to ooze mysterious liquid. The skin around many of them was turning blue and green. My hair was still black and choppy from the dye in DC; however, my fake tan had faded leaving me a pasty olive color.

I slipped on the t-shirt and shorts that Carson had allowed me to take into the bathroom with me, but not without a thorough search first. Drying my hair with the towel, I exited the bathroom. Carson was seated near the cockpit.

"Welcome back Gallagher Girl." I ignored him. If I were going to be stuck on this plane with him for the next twenty-four hours, he would get no answers from me if got none from him. "I'm shirtless right now, shouldn't you be too?" Carson gave me a wink as I sneered at his comment.

"The silent treatment," Carson stated, "I see how this game is played." Walking over to me, Carson continued, "Just know though Gallagher Girl, I always win." His hot breath tickled the inside of my ear as he turned back to his private quarters.

I took the time to search the cabin, maybe finding something I could use as either a weapon or a way to escape when we landed. Most likely, we would land in an airport since we left from one, but there was still a chance that if I did try to escape, I'd escape into the middle of nowhere.

Sadly I found none. There was only one exit and to get to it, I would have to make it past Carson. I was tired and injured, while he was rested and recovering. There was no option for escape; I knew I would be stuck with him until I figured out something at where we were. Sighing, I figured that I might be able to trick my destination out of him.

"Okay," I said, slipping into his quarters. "I relent. You win Carson. You want to talk, let's talk. "

"I told you I always win Gallagher Girl. Now, I know that you're going to try and trick me out of saying where we're going so, ask me where we're going."  
>"You're kidding me? Right?" I asked. No way I was just going to <em>ask<em> him where we were going.

"Nope, " he said popping the P, "I'm completely serious. Ask me, go ahead."

"Fine Carson," I continued, "Where are we going?" I rolled my eyes expecting some snarky comment in return for my question.

"Nope, you forgot the magic word." I sneered in return.

"_Please_, tell me where we're going." I put strain on the please showing how much it burned for me to speak the even simplest of courtesies

"_Roma_," He said with a convincing Italian accent. Being a spy, a slip up in an accent could get you killed, so his perfection did not surprise me in the least.

"We're going to Rome?" I questioned. I'd always wanted to visit Rome, but not under circumstances like these.

"Yup," Carson replied.

"And what do exactly do you think we'll find in _Roma_."

"Everything. I wasn't high enough up in the rankings of the Circle, despite my mom being who she is, to know exactly why they want you." Carson revealed.

"So you lied." I retorted. Giving me a confused look I elaborated, "You said you knew why they wanted me."

"I never said I knew why they wanted you, you just jumped to conclusions. Now, I plan on finding out why they want you." I couldn't tell if Carson was being serious or if he was just using this as an excuse to get my guard down. "All I knew was that you had something or someone close to you had something we needed. I think my mom knew that I wasn't to be trusted, so she never let me have the full story. I think there was always a part of her that was hoping that I turn out like her and be a high ranking member of the circle."

"So your mom's just a member?" I clarified. I'd always assumed that she was the leader, the "head honcho", the big guy. "That means that there's someone more powerful pulling the strings in this operation." Carson nodded. "Let me guess, he/she is in Rome?"

"I knew you were smart Gallagher Girl." He smirked at me and lied down in the bed next to his desk he was sitting at before.  
>"I still don't trust you though." I told him, making him obviously aware of my distrust.<br>"Like I said," He said in return. "I knew you were smart." His words confused me even more than I was before. Previously, he was trying to convince me to trust him and now he's saying that I'm smart for not trusting him.

"We've got about twenty two hours and thirty seven minutes befo-" He began.

"I know how long we have," I snapped in response.

"And she brings out the claws. Feisty, I like it Gallagher Girl. Here," He pointed to the bed next to the one he lay in, "this one is yours, know yourself out." He laughed at his own lame pun. I rolled my eyes in response.

No sooner did I lie down that I heard Carson's breathing even out and I could tell he was asleep. The lights in the cabin dimmed and I was left staring at a blank ceiling. We were going to find answers. I had to be taken by force, but Carson and I were going to find answers. I had left Zach, Tyler, Bex, Liz, and Macey, but I was finally going to get the answers I need, and maybe find my dad too. If the head of the Circle was in Rome, then that means that my dad might be too.

"Carson," I whispered. "Hey," I said once more.  
>"We have hours until we land and you had to wake me up in the middle of my nap?" He groaned. Turning his back to me, he began to fake snore. I threw my pillow at him in response.<p>

"I guess sleeping is out of the question then."

"What did you mean I was smart not to trust you?" I inquired.  
>"I've done things, and seen things that I know you wouldn't approve of." His face got dark, even in the dimming light.<p>

"Why me Carson, why be infatuated with me? I know you could've been happy just listening and following orders, but you chose to do this, you chose to change sides. Why?" The question had been eating up at me for days, and I felt like I needed to know that answer.

"There's more to it than you know Cameron Morgan." He gave a dark chuckle and I began to get even more confused.  
>"I know you know my story, now that we're going into this together, I think I deserve to know yours. So go, I want to know the story of Carson Goode. Why is he so instant about meddling in my life and why did he kidnap me to take me to Rome and find answers."<p>

"You don't remember me do you?" He laughed once more. I never remember meeting him before that day in DC. Nothing came to mind.

"No?" I asked like it was a trick question. "The first time I ever saw you was in DC when we went on that CoveOps mission."

"Do you remember two boys named Jackson and Jake Deans?" The names did ring a bell, but I couldn't place a face to a name.

"The names sound familiar, but I can't remember."

"I might have had something to do with that." He gave a shy smile turning back to face me. Placing his arm under his head he continued, "They were your neighbors when you lived in Nebraska by your grandparents. It was from the ages of four to six." I was beginning to remember the boys. I remember I had a crush on Jackson, but he'd always pick on me and pull my hair. I tried using the Mendenski maneuver on him one time and ended up pushing him into a fence post. He had a huge scar on the inside of his arm after that. They moved soon after I had cracked the Sapphire Code my dad brought home.

"Now I remember them. But what do they have anything to do with your past?" I asked. None of this made sense. It was like I had all the pieces to a puzzle but each piece was from a different picture.

"Hand me those wet wipes by your bed." Carson demanded. I handed them as he took one out and began to run the towel along his left arm. I saw the skin bubble and then disintegrate off his skin.

"Carson!" I yelled, "Stop, you're burning your skin. That _cannot_ be good for you."

"Calm down Gallagher Girl," Carson said while laughing, "Boys use make up too, just we need something a bit stronger to take it off." Once I forced myself to look at Carson's arm again, I saw that it was no longer a solid tan color, but in its place was long, thick, jagged, white line.

"Jackson?" I asked. I felt the tears welling in my eyes. All the memories I had spent with Jackson and Jake came flooding back to me. Pushing the tears back down, I said, "But that's impossible, Jackson and Jake looked nothing like you and Zach."

"People change over time Cam, it's kind of like having the super nerdy kid come back to school and suddenly he's hot, but I was always hot so, that rule doesn't really apply to me."

"So who are you really? Are you Zach, Carson, Jackson? Who next Andrew Garfield, because if you are him, I'd be perfectly fine with that." He rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm Carson Goode, plain and true."

"Well, I guess I can finally say that it's nice to meet you Carson. But the one thing I want to know is why did you live next to me? How did that benefit you?" It seemed like a stupid question, but I learned early on with Carson, there's a motive behind everything.

"My mom." Obviously. "She thought that the easiest was to get to your parents would be through you, and she must've been right, because one of them is gone now." I felt the tears well up again. I didn't like talking about my dad, not now, not ever.

"I guess that makes sense."

"Go to sleep Gallagher Girl, we'll need our energy when we get to Rome. By the time we get there, people are going to know that we might not be who they think we are. That I'm not who they think I am. I know that I'm not because now I have you, and things are finally going to change."

"I think," I said, "That you're right."

It really was time for a change.


	18. He's Back

**Sorry for the long wait and a not very long chapter, but expect an update for this story coming within the next two to three days I PINKY SWEAR IT so don't worry you won't have to wait long. Hopefully a update for How Long Does Forever Last coming in the next two to three days too. If you haven't read it already, then check it out, as well as my other one shots Unfinished (new) and Candy Corn. Okay Read, Enjoy, Review. :) **

The plane touched down in Rome a couple of hours after Carson and I had our talk about him living next to me when we were kids. It was so strange to think that innocent Jackson and devious Jake ended up as sweet, scared Zach, and mysterious, dangerous Carson. I knew something was different though. I may not know the entire story of what happened in those years following them moving, but I know that their past was way more complicated than I even could begin to imagine. I still wasn't sure if I could trust Carson, almost the same way I wasn't sure if I could trust him when he was Zach. The worst part was that I knew that I was in way over my head. I was in love. I was in love with the person I thought Carson was when he was Zach. I was in love with the way that he protected me when he knew I could fend for myself. I was in love with the way he smirked when I knew something I didn't and how his eyes lit up when he pointed to himself and said spy. I was crushed when I found out he was with the Circle. I still didn't know if he was on my side or theirs.

Then there was Zach. He didn't, and doesn't, know anything about my world. He's been trapped in an oblivion for years, trapped by his own mother. I knew as true as day that Zach was on my side from the beginning. I may not be a professional spy, but I knew genuine truthfulness when I see it. Zach was on my side and I knew that for sure. It was like choosing between night and day. Zach could be my knight in shining armor, but Carson could be my superman, guaranteeing my safety. I almost felt like Zach didn't even get a chance. I left him at Gallagher without a second thought. He was there now though, and he was safe. That was all that mattered.

Carson spent a couple of minutes attending to the plane. I had wondered who was piloting the plane, but I soon found that it was piloted by itself. Carson dismantled the piloting system then swept the entire plane for fingerprints or anything that could tie it to us. I did nothing. Carson single handedly cleaned an entire plane, removing any traces of us ever being there in less than an hour. There was a burn center close to the airport, so Carson took the sheets and any other fabric or trash that could relate us back here. It almost felt like we were cleaning up the perfect murder.

"I spoke to one of the Circle connections in Singapore, so when people find out I've turned, they'll look there first. But my mom isn't stupid, she'll know we're not there, but hopefully this will throw them off our scent for a while. I don't doubt that she figure out we're here soon enough. We have to act soon, and we have to act fast."

"Lead the way Sir Know-it-all." Carson rolled his eyes and exited the plane. Hailing a taxi, we rolled up to a remote hotel by the Coliseum. Rome was nothing what I expected. I could see the aspects of the city where culture and tradition had flourished, but looking at other parts, I could see the streets were dirty and completely touristic. Parts of the city were made to amplify the American stereotype of Italian culture. It saddened me to see the influence America could have on some parts of life.

"Our room has two beds, one for you and one for me. I'll be back, if we're going to stay here, we need some sort of cover. The Circle has agents everywhere. We could already have been spotted, and it's too dangerous to keep on going about like this. If I'm not back in an hour, move to this location. It doesn't matter how you get there, just get there." Carson handed me a slip of paper and then a key to the room. I blinked and he was gone.

The room was small, having only two beds and bathroom. Placing my small suitcase by the bed closest to the door, I opened the curtains. Our room had an open view to the open streets of Rome. Luckily, we had a balcony as well. I opened the sliding doors and let the sweet smells of the city waft into the room. Carson had gotten us a room in one of the more traditional parts of the city. I people watched for a while, listening to the sounds of the city. I was out of practice. Even though I hadn't tailed anyone in a while, it seemed like just keeping track of random citizens was difficult. One person, though, did catch my eye. It was only because when I saw him, it was because he was staring directly at me.

I know that in Italy, the men are more open with their affection than in the United States. This was too far though. He looked a little older than me, maybe nineteen to early twenties with jet-black hair and an angry scowl. Soon after I spotted him, he turned and began to blend into the crowd. It went against everything I'd been taught, but against my better judgment, I left the room into the busy streets of Rome to follow the man.

It was high noon by the time I made it into the heart of the streets. People tapped me to sell me trinkets or food as I searched vehemently for the man with the black hair. I found him a minute later. He was sitting at a café happily sipping a coffee. The first rule of tailing a subject is not to get caught, I've learned from the best that sometimes getting caught is the best way to leave your subject oblivious. I knew that when I saw the man that he was getting caught because he wanted to be seen. He knew he was a tail, and he wanted me to know that. I approached him.

"Hello," I asked, tapping him on the shoulder, "I'd hate to be a bother, but I need directions to a shop called _Bella Roma_. I was hoping you could help me." I gave myself a thick California accent in hopes of hiding my east coast twang.

"Why yes," he spoke perfect English, but I detected a slight French accent. "It's one block down that way. The sign is in large letters, you can't miss it."

"Thank you so much." I shook his hand, and as I did so, I slipped his phone from his front pocket.

I ran in the direction he pointed me in, and then jumped into an alley, away from the streets. Inspecting his phone, I checked his phone calls and then checked his pictures. Unsurprisingly, I found the phone was not his. The pictures showed a blond Italian family with two children and a petite wife. Checking my watch, I realized that Carson should be back at by now. Running the long way around the streets, I reached the hotel in ten minutes.

Entering the room, I found it was empty. Carson wasn't back and that meant it was time for me to leave. I grabbed my suitcase and hauled my butt out the door. Leaving my room key on the front desk, I apologized in Italian to the clerk who gave me a strange look. I explained how I didn't have enough time to check out and that I was late. She nodded telling me that our room had been paid in advance for the next week and if I would like a refund. I nodded no and then sprinted out into the streets. My suitcase was lugging me down, so stopping in the same alley I had before I opened it to take out the emergency fake passport and ID that I always carried with me. Before I was able to sprint out of the alley, a hand was placed over my mouth. I attempted to flip the attacker, but they countered every move I threw. Frustrated, I threw every move I had ever learned in P&E at him.

"Cammie!" The attacker yelled, "Stop!" Light caught the man's face and I realized it was the same man who'd been staring at me from my window. I continued to attack, "Cammie! I'm telling you stop hitting me!"

Out of breath, I panted, "Give me one reason why I should."

"Because I'm a friendly!" He ducked my kick. "If you gave me one minute I'd explain every thing."

"You've got one minute Go." I told him. He quickly ran past me and into the better lighting. Quickly he pulled off fake skin from his face and removed heels from his shoes that made him appear taller. After removing all of the make up on his face, he pulled off his black wig revealing a mop of chocolate brown hair. He took off his contacts revealing a pair of emerald green eyes.

"Zach?"


	19. Brotherly Love

**Hi Guys, as promised here's the next update. I have no life this week -_- so be expecting more updates soon :) Check out my other stories Best Friends Together Forever, How Long Does Forever Last (update coming soon), Unfinished, and Candy Corn if you have time :D. Read. Enjoy. Review. :) **

"In the flesh." Zach joked lightly, giving me a shy smile as he then removed his jacket to reveal his broken arm. I dropped my offensive stance.

"Zach, how did you find me?" I asked.

"Cammie, that's not important. What is, is the fact that Carson could come back at any moment to turn you in. We have to leave. I was lucky enough to find you once and I'm not going to let you slip away again." Zach tried to pull on my arm, but I tugged it away from him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Cammie, this is serious." He reached for me again. "We have to leave, you don't know what Carson is capable of."

"Zach, why should I trust you? So far, your family has given me only reasons why I shouldn't trust you. I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain how you found me." I began to walk away but he chased me and pulled me further into the alleyway.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Abby put a tracker in our food when we were at Gallagher. She wasn't going to have any chances of us loosing you again. Obviously, it didn't work because you slipped through security a little too easily." He released my arm, convinced that I wasn't going to try and escape.

"Why did they send you? They could have sent Bex, or Macey, or Abby could have come and gotten me herself. Why did they send you? You're probably the least capable person to come and retrieve me." I attempted to slowly back out of the ally again, but when I took one step back, he took one forward.

"They sent me because if we get caught then I can say I'm Carson and serve as a double for the time being."

"You'll get caught." I deadpanned. "Besides, Carson isn't with them. They know that now so if you get caught, it's back to the cell and abuse."

"Cammie, we're _spies_. We _lie_. You have got to realize this. You used to be so careful, and now it's like your not even thinking anymore."

"How dare you." I replied furious. " You don't know anything about me. You don't know how I trust. You don't know who I am. You don't know _anything_ about me. Stop trying to act like you do Zach because you don't. You don't even know your own brother. He's different; he won't hurt me. He took me here to help me find answers about why the Circle wants me." I turned away from the alley.

"Cammie, stop running away from me! I'm trying to help you! I know you think I don't know you." He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest. I pushed and squirmed trying get away, but his hold was too tight. I was astonished by his strength despite his malnutrition and broken arm. "But I do know you. I know that you're strong. I know that you'll do anything to protect your friends and I know that there's nothing I can do to stop you when you set your mind to something. I may not have known you for long, but I know I've known you long enough to know that I care about you a lot. At least, enough to know that I'd be broken if you got hurt."

"Stop it!" I yelled breaking free of his grip. I turned to face him. "I've been through too much. I've been through too much to have you come in here and say those things to me. I've had it with you and your brother, both of you always screwing with my brain. I can't take it." I screamed. "Don't follow me Zach. I'm going to find my answers and you _and_ your brother aren't invited to come. Don't follow me or you'll regret it."

"And where exactly do you plan on going?" He asked me.

"It doesn't matter but if you or Carson try to find me you'll be dead by my hands. I'm tired of not trusting anyone, and I'm tired of not knowing what's going on. I'm going to find my answers and I'm going to find them alone."

"Cam, you don't know what your getting into. I'm telling you. Listen to me!" He yelled.

"Oh and you do?" I retorted. My legs found the power to move as I began to storm out of the alleyway.

"Yes. I do." He sighed. "You have to remember that _I _was tortured. _I _was a member of the Circle for a time, but _I_ wanted out. Cammie, I've only given you reasons to trust me. I'd do anything to protect you." He followed me.

"Just stay away from me Zach. Leave me alone!"

"Cammie, I can't do that." He reached for me one more time, but I was already sprinting away.

The bustling streets of Rome provided the perfect environment for a chameleon. I quickly shoplifted a floppy sun hat from one of the nearby stores and then joined a tour group. It was just like DC, except this time I knew who my tail was. I spotted him once by a shop a little ways away, and he saw me too. He began his sprint towards me. He wasn't going for discrete; he just wanted to get to me.

Stepping out of the tour group, I ditched the floppy hat and tried to find a cab of some sort to get me of the city. Spotting one, I ran towards it and told the cab driver I was in a rush to get out of the city in perfect Italian. He gave me a strange look but opened the door for me.

"_Bella_." Zach said reaching for my arm. He explained some convoluted story about how we were dating and he was trying to explain why I was running away. The cab driver seemed to understand and drove off.

"You had no right." I told him, pulling my arm away.

"I had every right." He replied angrily. "Cam, I'm here to take you home, so you're _safe_. Bex, Macey, Liz, Abby, your mom, hell, even _Townsend_ are worried. I can't let you slip away again." He pulled me over to a nearby park and sat me down on a bench. His rough hold on me drew many strange looks from random bystanders.

"Zach, you have to let me do this. I need to know what happened. I need to know where my dad is; if he's a live. I need to know why the Circle wants me dead. I need to find out who keeps betraying me. I need to learn who I can trust, and right now that's no one."

"Cam, you don't think I get that? I completely understand why you need to do this, but I don't trust my brother, and you shouldn't either. He devious." Zach signed. "He abusive, and sometimes, I barely recognize him as human. The same way I barely recognize my own mother."

"Carson is nothing like her." I stated.

"Isn't he?" Zach asked, his gaze drifting off into the distance. "Do you really think you can trust him? He's just as devious as her. You've seen my scars. He's just as abusive as her. Worst of all, he's just as honest as her." I gave him a strange look. From what I knew, Catherine Goode was anything but honest. "Yeah, I know, it's funny as thinking of my mother as honest, but it's true. She won't lie to you. If she's going to kill you, she'll tell you 'I'm going to kill you.' She doesn't hold back. At times, it makes it easier, but mostly, her honesty is just even more torturous."

"But Carson isn't like that!" I tried to defend him. It felt like someone was tugging on my heartstrings, pulling them one way to another. I don't know what it was, maybe it was his charm, or his familiarity, but I think along the way I had fallen back in love with the person I thought Carson was. As I had gone on this trip, he seemed more like the Zach I knew than the Carson that I was introduced to.

"But Cammie, he is." Zach got up and held his hand out for me to take. He didn't force me, his emotional energy drained.

"He's not with them." I told him. "He's not like _that_. I know it."

"You always think you know a person, Cammie, but the truth is: you never really know anyone at all, even yourself."

"You're wrong!" I yelled at him. "He's honest, and he cares, he listens, he helps me, and he…he…he's not someone I can trust." I relented, breaking into sobs. Zach pulled me into his chest and let me cry. He placed his head on top of mine while rubbing my back. The tears came streaming down. I was finally crying. I was crying from the abuse, both physical and emotional. I was crying from the betrayal. I was just crying.

"I'm sorry Cammie." Zach cooed.

"I-I-I just don't want him to be who everyone thinks he is. I want him to be who I thought he was. I want him to be able to save me from your mom; I want him to help me find out what happened to my dad. I want him to care about me again." I buried my face deeper into his chest. It felt wrong, confessing everything I had thought about Carson to Zach.

"Cammie, you're wrong. I do care about you, and I _will_ help you find your answers." A new voice interrupted my sob-fest as Zach's grip tightened on me.

"Carson?" I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes.  
>"Hey bro, long time no beat the crap out of me." Zach said sarcastically.<p>

"Cammie, why didn't you come to the safe house? I told you to meet me there if I was over an hour late. When you didn't show up I went back to the hotel and the desk lady said you checked out in a hurry over half an hour ago. I got worried and I've been running around the city looking for you."

"You were looking for me?" I asked.

"Yes, but I see you already called back up." Carson sneered at his brother.

"She didn't call me Carson," Zach answered for me, "I came of my own free will."

"Then how did you find her? How did you find us?" Carson roared at his brother. His shoulders were hunched and his fists were enclosed, knuckles turning white.

Zach just smirked, the very same one that Carson had, pointed to himself and said, "Spy."

"Don't you dare say that!" Carson replied, "You're not a spy, you're a coward and a quitter. You gave up on me when I needed you most!"

"I never gave up on you!" Zach screamed in return. "You changed into someone that I knew was beyond my help. I tried. I tried _so_ hard to keep you from becoming the person that you did. It killed me every day I was left to _rot_ that I couldn't save you. I couldn't have done anything more to stop you from joining them. If I'm the coward, then you're no better than the rest of them."

"You left me! You tried to leave without giving me even a thought. I may be younger, but I knew when I was being abandoned. Even if I hadn't been this 'person' you say I am, you would've left me anyways." Carson took a step closer to Zach as Zach mirrored the action.

"I was going to take you with me! I was going to take you with me and we were going to have a better life. Did you know that Mom employed me first? I had to kill so many people. So many goddamned people. But she paid me." I gasped at this revelation. "I saved the money from every victim so that we could have enough to leave with and survive off the grid. Mom found out though and she took the money then said that I was a traitor. She hit me and then got you to hit me then put me in the goddamned cell. All I ever wanted was for you and me to get out of that hell hole."

"You're lying! You were going to leave me! You did leave me!" Carson had tears welling up his eyes. At the moment I didn't see the cocky, self assured man I'd been traveling and getting to know in my high school years, but an injured, scared little boy who'd seen too much and lived too long.

"Carson, you're my brother and I love you. I would _never_ leave you like that." Zach reached out to place a hand on his brother's shoulder, but Carson shrugged it off.

"You need to leave." He said.

"I'm not going without Cammie."

"She doesn't want to go with you."

Zach was about to say something when I interrupted. "Doesn't Cammie get a say in this?"

"Gallagher girl," Carson said, "You have to go with me. We'll find the answers we need and everything will be okay"  
>Zach turned to me. "Cammie, just remember what I told you. Go with him if that's what you really need to do, but think about the risks you're taking and the people you're leaving behind."<p>

I was about to reply when the bullet made impact with my stomach.


	20. A New Perspective

******Hi guys so i know some of you (the ones that i told) were expecting an update yesterday but i got sick :( so this chapter is dedicated to DanieLovesYou xXxGGirlxXx hateme101 and especially crazier-then-me for both helping me with this chapter and being the first ever reviewer for this chapter. As a special thanks i have included her in this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy Carson's POV. Read. Enjoy. Review. **

**Carson's POV**

Cammie immediately passed out once she was hit. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ I chided myself. I should have known they'd follow us. I should have known that I didn't loose my goddamned tail, but I didn't bother to check. I got cocky, and I got sloppy. Now Cammie had to pay the price. Amidst our fight, we had gained a large group of people around us, but when the bullet made contact with Cammie's stomach, the crowd quickly dispatched. Zach's face had completely drained of color and he looked like he was going to hurl.

"Well don't just stand there you idiot!" I yelled at him. "Help me!"

"Um, ya, help." He managed to stutter. If possible, his face grew even paler before he ran to throw up behind a bush. He returned looking slightly, but not much, better.

"You're such a baby, so there's a little blood. Get over yourself and help me get her out of here. If they shot one, they're bound to shoot more. Now move your ass!"

"That's way more than a little blood." I looked at my hands and found them coated in a dark red liquid. Now I felt like I was going to hurl. I took a shaky breath and lifted Cammie up. For such a small person, this girl sure weighed a lot. Zach helped her onto my back as I began sprinting through the streets. I didn't know, more or less care, if Zach was behind me, but from the desperate pants, I had a feeling he wasn't too far behind. Cammie was bleeding profuse amounts of blood, soaking my t-shirt. People screamed and pointed as we ran through the streets.

Suddenly, Zach stopped running and pulled over by a car. He was breathing heavily with one arm placed on the car handle and the other over his abdomen

"You've got to be kidding me." I told him. "We have to go! Move Zach."

"Get in." He told me. He yanked open the car door and I noticed that the rest of the car was locked besides the door he was leaning against. "Who says I haven't lost my touch." He bragged with a coy smirk. I glared.

"This is no time for bragging. Get Cammie in the back seat with you. I'll drive." He didn't protest.

I unlocked the door for Zach and Cammie. Her breathing was slowing, growing shallower with each breath. We were loosing her. "Carson," Zach said, interrupting me from my trance. "I think it punctured her stomach." Cammie vomited blood all over the back seat of the car then slowly passed out again. "We need to get out of here." I nodded.

Flooring the gas, I raced out of the streets of Rome, my knuckles turning white from my death grip on the wheel. "Zach take off your shirt." He gave me a quizzical look. "Press it to the wound to stop it from bleeding." Without any more instruction, he quickly pressed the semi-soaked fabric to the bleeding wound. He was crying and whispering quiet apologizes as he tended to Cammie. I could only grit my teeth, wishing it was me and not him there, tending and caring for her.

"Carson," Zach said minutes later. "We have a-"

"I know!" I snapped. A white car had been following us since we hijacked this one. "I'm going to try to loose it. Strap Cammie in and hold on tight." I quickly swerved off the road and onto the side of the street. Cammie vomited more blood. "Help." She managed to squeak out. Her face was growing paler and so was Zach's.

"Zach, this might seem ridiculous, but you're going to do exactly as I say in the next five minutes. Okay?" He gave me a confused, weary look, but nodded. "Hold Cammie tight to your chest. In two minutes I'm going to round an alley. When I say go, jump and do _not_ let go of her. You're going to roll, and then, you're going to run. You're going to run as far as you can. I'll find you, don't worry." He looked from me to Cammie, then back to me again.

"No." He said.

"_No?_ You have to do this or she's going to die! Zach just do as I say, you don't have a whole lot of time!" He was being so thick. Why can't he ever do what I say?

"I'm not leaving you again. Either we do this together or we don't do this at all." His words brought tears to my eyes. "I have a choice this time whether or not to go, and I'm staying. I'm going to be the brother you missed and I'm going to be there."

"I'm sorry Zach." I jerked the wheel hard left then opened the door. Zach, unprepared for my heroics, lost balance and grabbed Cammie at the last second. Both of them tumbled out of the car as the door swung shut and I gunned it down the road. Checking my rear view mirror I saw Zach running away with Cammie on his back. The white tail was still following me. I let out a sigh of relief.

I drove for another fourty miles before pulling over. The white car pulled up next to me as three Circle agents got out. "Hello boys." I nodded to them.

"Well done Agent Goode." The middle one said. He was the biggest of the three with scraggly hair and a five o'clock shadow growing on his double chin.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I enjoyed it." I sighed.

"Our source tells us that they're on their way to an Italian city called Bari. Circle agents will be waiting for them there. You will meet them there and ensure that they get to this address. If they cooperate, no one will be hurt, but if they don't then they all will suffer." I flinched. Zach had his "father figure" when we were growing up, and I had mine, I'd like you to meet mine.

"I'll make sure it happens."

"We will accept nothing less than that from you Agent Goode. You may go." The three men reentered the white car as I collapsed on the car seat. Burring my face in my hands, I let my tears flow freely. Circle agents were supposed to be tuff. They were supposed to be cold-hearted killers, but I mean every single word I had said to my brother today. He was right though, I had no one to blame but myself for the person I'd become. There's no getting out of the Circle though. It's a gang. There's a way out, but the things you've done, the things they will want you to do will always make you the person you've tried to escape being.

Going over to the driver's seat, I started the car and pressed my foot on the gas. I backtracked to the area where I pushed Zach out of the car. They were nowhere in sight so I called my contact.

"I need their location." I told her once she picked up the telephone. "Send me the code for her tracker and I won't bother you again."

"Ugh," she said, "it's three in the morning here. A nice hello would have been nice."

"The code." I demanded.

"Calm down, I'll get you the code. Check your watch in about five minutes now if you'll excuse me I'll be going back to bed." She grumbled something in Russian, her native language, and then said, "There, it's sent."

"Thank you." I said sarcastically. Cammie and Zach were moving fast. They had made it back to a train station (I presume) and are traveling.

"Look," she said with a yawn, "easiest way to catch them but still not seem suspicious is take a day off, keep to yourself then take the 5:30 train there on Wednesday. They'll be waiting for you there. I'll send a message telling them not to leave. Don't worry I'll find a way, that's why I'm here isn't it?" She yawned again. "I'm tired so bye. Good luck Agent Goode."

The line went dead. I pondered her suggestion. Take a day to myself? I'd never done that before. Ever since I could remember it was work, work, work. I was in Italy after all though, one of the most cultural and historical cities in the world. Also home to one of the largest Circle bases in the world.

I drove back to the outskirts of the city, and then ditched the car. The streets of Rome were bustling with natives and tourists alike. I blended into the people until I got to a café. Sitting down, I observed many of the passing people. It was strange, just relaxing, not having anything to do. The waiter brought me a cup of coffee with cream.

"Are you waiting for a special someone?" He asked with a thick Italian accent.

"Not quite." I replied, my tone somber.

"Ah, no worries my friend, she will come around." He patted me on the shoulder then went to tend to the other tables.

"We'll see after tomorrow."

Quickly, I paid for my coffee and went to explore the town. Vendors had set up stands everywhere as tourists took pictures of everyone and everything. I decided to buy a necklace from one of the vendors. It was a circle with a little infinity sign inside of it. I planned to give it to Cammie, if she ever forgave me. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

I walked around for two hours, aimlessly looking at tourist traps and watching amusing families with too many children. I received some odd looks from concerned parents who realized I was alone.

"I'm sorry, but can you help me?" Someone said tapping me on the shoulder. The first thing I noticed were here eyes. They were a chocolate brown that faded into forest green and were nearly blue by her pupils. I was captivated. Managing to regain my ability of speech, I responded. "Oh, um yes? How can I help you?"

"I'm a bit lost, can you direct me _Rosa Villa_? I'm supposed to meet my teacher there and I'm completely hopeless." I had passed that hotel earlier while practicing tailing a touring group of students.

"Um- gah- yeah, I guess." I couldn't figure out why I couldn't speak clearly around her. Her eyes were so intense that I couldn't bear to look away from them.

"Thank you so much! I'll owe you for forever. I'm Courtney by the way." She extended her hand for me to shake and I reluctantly took it.

"Alex."

"Well, Alex, it's very nice to meet you. Do you know how hard it is to find someone who can speak English that I can actually understand? Extremely!" I laughed as she spun and made exasperated sounds.

We walked to the hotel, arriving before the sun went down. "Thanks again for helping me back here." She told me. She flashed her smile, braces and all.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't help a girl in need?" Well, I'm not a gentleman at all since I'm working for a terrorist organization, but you don't need to know that.

"Still, I would have never found this place without you! Here's my email, shoot me one sometime." She took my hand and wrote her email on my hand. I laughed at the immaturity of it. "Don't judge me, I wrote it when I was in like third grade, so of course it's going to be embarrassing."

"It's fine. I'll definitely send you something sometime." Courtney gave me a slight wink then entered her hotel.

Since I was "taking the day off" I had to get a hotel for the night. I checked into a hotel by Courtney's. Arriving into my room, I crashed into my bed. Something felt off though, there was a slight smell of rotten eggs emanating from the air conditioning system. My head began to feel fuzzy as I heard a slight knock at the door. Stumbling like a man who had too many beers, I unlocked the door to see Courtney standing at the entrance.

"Nighty-night Carson." She said before the black dots took over my vision and I was unconscious.


	21. She Can't Be

**Hey guys sorry for the later update. SO i've decided to finish this story before i continue with my other story How long does forever last. DOnt' worry, this story is almost done (Sadly :( ) but if i do have time to update, that story will be updated soon. Anyways, i hope you like this chapter. For those of you who want to know what happens to Carson stay tuned, it shall be revealed soon enough! PS. i sprained my wrist so the next update might not come for a while because typing actually really hurts sorry. anyways: Read. Enjoy. Review.**

**Zach's POV**

Carson had been gone for days. I don't know whether to be mad or proud of him for shoving me out of that car. Wait, I know. I'm furious. We got some cryptic message from him two days ago saying that he would meet us here in Bari, but he is yet to show. I don't even know how he knew where we were.

I unrolled the letter I had received from him days earlier. It formatted like an email from an anonymous sender. It said: _Zach, take care of Cammie. I will meet you in Bari in two days. Don't do anything stupid. ~Carson._ Today was he deadline and the night hours were creeping up fast. I was lucky. When we arrived in Bari, we found a man on his way to a medical conference. He was a doctor that dealt with gang injuries in New York. He fixed Cammie's bullet wound without any questions. He didn't ask where we were going and where we were from, or even charge us (which I was thankful for), and said he wouldn't mention us to anyone. Cammie now lays here on the couch of our hotel room. Her face is deathly pale and her body grows colder by the day.

Every day I leave Cammie for an hour to check the train station a half an hour away. Every day, Carson doesn't show. I don't know what to do. I've been trapped for so long that it's impossible for me to know what to do in this situation. I know we have to go back to the States. Cammie needs the help of a real doctor. She needs blood transfusions, or something, just something to stop her from looking so…. so…dead.

It's been ten days since the letter from Carson. Cammie still hasn't awakened and I've made the executive decision that we were going back to Gallagher. We had no bags, only the food that I had purchased earlier on in the week. Cammie had lost so much weight, almost to the point where I could see her ribs through her skin when I went to change her bandages.

"You're going to be okay Cammie. I promise, and I _always_ keep my promises." I felt the tears prick at the edges of my eyes. I was never the one for tears. I didn't cry when Carson sided with my mom. I didn't cry when they beat me. I didn't cry when my own brother killed my dad in front of me. I never cried. I just cried knowing that if I didn't do something to help her, Cammie was going to die within the 24-hours.

I bought the tickets for the plane the previous night. Our flight was at twelve and we had to leave by ten. I picked Cammie up and carried her wedding style into the taxi I had called. I paid the cabbie extra not to say anything about if he did, and us I would know. He asked no questions and drove us to the airport. This was one of those times I really wish that I had one of those memory-erasing devices from _Men in Black_.

We managed to get through security without many strange looks and onto the plane where Cammie began to moan.

"Cammie!" I said shaking her shoulder. "Cammie! Are you okay? Are you there?" It was like talking to a corpse.

"So…. cold." She managed.

"Excuse me, stewardess!" I yelled, "Please I need a blanket fast. My girlfriend is freezing."

"I'm sorry sir, but the blankets won't be passed out until we've reached altitude." The stewardess replied with a kind smile.

"Please, please, she's been sick for a really long time and she needs one now." I pleaded with her.

"I'm sorry sir but I told you bl-"

"I don't care!" I yelled. Many of the other passengers were now openly staring at me. "Please, I really need this. She does. She's been really sick and I can't stand to see her suffer like this." Putting on a fake sob I began to hiccup and let the tears roll down my face.

"Just give him a damned blanket!" one of the other passengers yelled. A chorus of "Yeah!"s and "What harm can it do?" Echoed the man. I gave him a thankful look as the stewardess handed me a blanket. She sent a sneer my way but I ignored her as I wrapped Cammie tightly inside a blanket.

"Cammie, are you feeling better, Cammie, talk to me." I pleaded.

"C-c-cold." She stuttered again. I took off my jacket and placed it on her, in hopes of getting her warmer. "C-c-carson?" she asked.

"No, it's Zach. Cammie, don't worry, you're going to be okay." I assured her.

"N-n-ot okay. L-l-et go. Thank you." She managed. Her voice broke as she passed out once again. I felt her neck for a pulse. It was faint but there. I let myself cry once again as the people on the plane continued to stare.

"Stop it!" I yelled, my voice cracking and raw. "Stop looking at us!" People averted their eyes, but I could tell they were still staring.

"Sir, if she's not healthy we cannot take off." The cranky stewardess told me.

"She's fine, just get us to Virginia." The stewardess nodded as the pilot made the announcement in both Italian and English that we were preparing for take off. I asked for a couple more blankets to wrap around Cammie. I was more afraid that I was going to end up suffocating her rather than her overheating.

"Cammie, please don't leave." I said, placing my head on her lap. "Please, don't." I whispered. I fell asleep soon after. It was the first time I had slept since leaving to rescue Cammie from Carson. What a great rescue that turned out to be. She's nearly dead because of me. God damn it! I can't do anything right.

When I woke up the flight attendant was shaking my shoulder telling me I needed to return my seat to the upright position. I gave her a light sneer then sat up. Cammie hadn't moved as I felt her forehead. It was warm. She was going to make it! I noticed some color had returned to her cheeks, but she still looked ghastly pale. She needed a blood transfusion or to be stitched up, or something to get her back looking healthy. I heard her groan lightly as I shushed her.

"Don't worry Cam, we'll be home soon." I pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ears. The plane touched down not minutes later. We were at the back of the plane so we were one of the lasts to exit.

The snotty flight attendant gave me an obviously fake smile as she said, "I hope you have a _fantastic_ day." I replied with, "I hope you die in a hole." He mouth was open in a gasp as her fists balled up. I thought she was about to hit me as I gave her a look prodding her on.

"Thank you_ sir_." She said through gritted teeth. Carrying Cammie bridal style I hailed us a cab back to Roseville. We had bags, but I knew that it would have been impossible for me to carry both them and Cammie to the airport pick up zone. The cabbie gave us a strange look when he saw Cammie. I told him to drive us to Gallagher Academy in Roseville.

"You sure you don't want to bring her to a first laddie?" The man had a thick Irish accent as he spoke, his bushy mustache spreading so it tickled the edges of his ears.

"She'll be fine, but if you get us to Gallagher fast she'll be even better, and I can guarantee you'll be too." I held out my wallet which I kept in my front pocket and flashed a couple hundred dollar bills. The cabbie didn't ask questions on how or where I got the money, he only knew that if he did what I said, he'd get at least some of it.

We arrived at Gallagher in less than half an hour. The cabbie had driven like a mad man, very much like a child would at Autopia in Disneyland. I exited the cab with Cammie slung over my back like a rag doll. Her breathing was still shallow but she felt slightly warmer. It could have just been my body heat radiating back into me, but I'd preferred to keep my brighter options open.

The bubblegum guard recognized Cammie and me immediately. He used his private walkie-talkie to contact Ms. Morgan. We were met at the door with a surgeon, Ms. Morgan, and Liz. They took Cammie off my back and rushed her to the medical wing of the mansion.

"What happened Zach?" Bex asked me when I saw her. "Tell me what the bloody hell happened to my best friend!"

"She was shot." I said, barely above a whisper.

"You said you'd protect her." Macey said. Her voice was even, like the calm before the storm. "You said you'd bring her back unharmed! You lied to us!" Tears openly streamed down her eyes as she spoke. Bex was in no better a condition.

"There was nothing I could do."

"That's a lie." A new voice said. "You could always have done something more."

"Who are you?" I asked giving the boy a sneer.

"Tyler Waters at your service." He said.

"Well Tyler, no one asked your opinion." I glared at him and turned back to Bex and Macey, "Look, guys, Cammie will be fine."  
>"What happened to Carson?" Tyler asked.<p>

"Carson's gone."

Bex and Macey gasped. "He's _gone_."

"I haven't heard from him since he pushed me out of the car with Cammie." All three of them gave me a quizzical look as I told them my tale from the point where I left them to when I arrived back.

"I think I should fill in a couple of blanks here." Tyler said. "I left with Cammie."

"Then why didn't you bloody stop her!" Bex yelled.

"Let me finish. She wouldn't have stayed even I could have convinced her. You guys know her better than anyone, when she sets her mind to something, do you really expect her to back down?" The nodded their heads in understanding. "Anyways, I went with Cammie to DC. She thought there was going to be something there to help her find answers. I don't know the questions, but all I know is that she ditched me in a hotel room and I assume from there she was abducted by Carson then sort of rescued by Zach."

"Like you could have done much better pretty boy." I grumbled under my breath.

"I didn't abduct her." A deep voice rumbled from behind me. "Well, okay I _sort _of abducted her, but after that she came willingly."

"You're lying Carson!" Bex yelled.

"I'm not lying. Zach, where is she?"

"Infirmary." I said silently. Carson was beaten and bloodied, and in need of some medical assistance himself. He left eye was swollen shut and his right arm looked like it was hanging on by the shred of a muscle. His attire was soaked in blood, all the way down to his shoes with sloshed and squished whenever he took a step, leaving a bloody footprint in his wake. He was missing hair in some places and what wasn't covered in blood (which wasn't much) was hidden by a deep purple-green bruise.

"I'm going to go see here." He announced.

"There's no need," Liz said reentering the foyer. "She's dead."


	22. Avenge Revenge

**Hi guys sorry long time no update again but i haven't had any wifi for weeks but now i have some so hopefully some more updates coming up soon :) HOping to finish this story by the end of January next year. IT WILL HAPPEN THIS IS MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION ps this is kind of a late christmas/ bday present from me to you :) **

**Carson POV**

"No. No!" I heard myself wail. Tear exploded from my eyes as I turned and punched the drywall of the academy. I immediately knew I had broken my hand by sickening crunch the followed the impact. I should have known the interior was lined with steel. "She can't be dead."

"I'm sorry Carson, but she died before I was even able to reach her." Liz placed a hand on my shoulder then recoiled at the warmth of the blood that soaked it. "You need medical attention." I stalked away and then turned back.

"You were supposed to protect her!" I screeched at my brother.

"Me?" Zach asked in shock. "You're the reason she got shot in the first place! God damn it Carson, you always try to pin things on me! I'll admit that this was my fault too. I should have taken her to the hospital, but I had thought that it'd be even more risky than keeping her with me because if she were in the hospital I'd be forced to leave her at one point."

"You're a liar! You were supposed to keep her safe. You just wanted to keep her for yourself. You knew she was going to choose me and you'd rather pretend that you gave it your best effort than see her with me."

"My God Carson, what is wrong with you?" Zach hissed. I didn't know. Words, which I had no control over, were spewing out of my mouth like vomit. I clenched my hand into a fist then shook it out. Without my knowing it had clenched once again.

"She was supposed to be okay." I whispered before I swung at him. My mangled arm barely made contact with his face, but I managed to clip his left eye. It felt like I was swinging a wooden club rather than an extension of my body.

"Why are you doing this?" Zach yelled at me. Yet another question I didn't know the answer to. My anger and hate at both my situation and myself came out in shots of aggression to my brother. Zach didn't retaliate; he only kept on avoiding my blows. "Do you think she would have wanted this? Do you think that she would have wanted us fighting; going at each other's throats? Be smarter than this Carson! She'd want us to avenge her by taking down the Circle."

"Don't be stupid Zach." I relented, ceasing swinging. "The Circle is a massive organization with branches in every section of the government. It'd be impossible for anyone to take it down. It's like saying you want to take down the United States completely. Like, obliterate it. It has allies that will retaliate. There are parts of the Circle that will restart the organization even if you take out the heads. The Circle is impossible to destroy, but it is possible to weaken. I dare you to try and take down the Circle. You know that if you succeed in taking out some of the heads of the Circle, you'll be the number one on their hit list. They'll have every assassin, mercenary and joined-criminal after your head. And trust me, it's a long list of people they have that can kill you before you even knew what was going on. They won't care about how they get it as long as they get it."

"Carson, at this point it doesn't matter." Zach sighed. "We'll do our best to take them down. We'll work the rest of our lives to take them down, to protect our country and the ones we love. We realized this when we were assigned this life. We have to deal with the hand we've been dealt."

"I'm in." Bex said at the end of Zach's speech. "They killed my best friend, so I'm going to kill them."  
>"That goes same for me." Macey agreed. "I may not have as much experience but I sure as hell know that I've got more reason to fight."<p>

"Then I guess I'm in too." I said reluctantly.

"You guys are going to get yourselves killed." Liz told us. "But I guess that the captain goes down with her ship. I'm in." The girls smiled at her and then engulfed her in a massive hug. Zach and I hung awkwardly to the side.

"Meet us in our room in three hours." Bex told us. Zach nodded and left with her and Macey, but Liz and I stayed back.

"Come with me," she said.

I nodded and followed her back to the infirmary. There was a sheet over a misshapen lump and I felt myself choking up. Liz rolled her eyes and sat me down on a table beside the body.

"Jeez. You really did a number on yourself. Tell me what happened."

"I met a girl." She gave a slight chuckle.

"Oh Carson, why is that every time you meet a girl you end up severely hurt?" She dabbed alcohol on my arm to clean it up. I felt myself wince involuntarily at the sting.

"Call me lucky." I grumbled staring into the distance as she dabbed, wrapped, and stitched away at my cuts. By the end I looked like a livelier Frankenstein.

"So. How did this happen?" She asked again.

"The day I was supposed to leave Rome to meet Zach and Cammie I helped a girl find her hotel. She seemed innocent enough but turns out she was sent to kill me: a pay by day assassin. I believe she was from England because when she said her 'oo's it didn't come out completely how an American would say it. I didn't realize that until just now…I guess I am getting sloppy. Anyways she ambushed me in my room and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up I was in a steel room with lacerations all over my body. I don't remember what happened and what they wanted. All I know was that I could barely move and I think they expected me to bleed out. I somehow managed to escape; I'm not exactly sure how. I think I had help, but I'm not sure whom from. I was somewhere in California and I managed to steal a car and make it all the way back here. And here we are now." Liz looked puzzled for a minute, and then slapped me upside the head.

"You idiot!" She yelled. "How could you let your guard down like that? I mean I should have guessed you would since you've been getting sloppy ever since you met Cammie. I mean, just by the way that Cammie was so _easily_ able to figure out you were a Blackthorn boy in DC."

"That's not my fault!" I retaliated. "You helped her figure that out."  
>"Yes, but even before that, she spotted you. You're getting sloppy Carson, and you know how this game goes. Get sloppy then get dead; get good or get gone. This isn't your petty little preschool game anymore, this is real life, and if it's too hard for you then you have no business in this line of work."<p>

"Okay then Liz, you go out there, deceive everyone you know and love and tell me that it's hard not to be sloppy." I yelled at her.

"Cammie did it, and she wasn't even as good as people thought she was."

"Don't you dare say that about her!" I yelled in response. "She's right there! She was wonderful and a great spy and you don't know what you're talking about you two-timing-traitor!"  
>"Carson, this game you're playing, it's dangerous. Find where your loyalty lies and then talk to me, but until then, I may be a traitor, but at least I know which side is winning." Liz left with a swish of her hair and a bounce in her step. Her best friend is dead for Pete's sake and she's telling me to get my priorities straight?<p>

"I'm so sorry I let this happen to you Cammie." I rested my hand on the white bed spread, letting the dry blood flake off onto the sheets. "I should have protected you. I bet you know everything now. You know that I never left the Circle and that I was supposed to turn you in when I got to Bari, but I want you to know that I know where my loyalties lie. I realized that it was with you; my loyalty lies with you. It's not only my loyalty that lies with you, but my heart, my courage, my faith, my everything lies with you. And now it's too late. You're dead and I'm alive. I may have done some pretty shitty things in my life, but I'm determined to fix them. I'm determined to fix them for you Cammie. Gallagher Girl. I'm going to change, and I'm going to fulfill my true potential. I know you can hear me and I must sound like a blubbering fool."

"You don't sound like a fool." I heard a voice say. I wanted so badly to believe it. I wanted it so badly to be Cammie's voice that I heard. It sounded so close and so real. But, it wasn't.

"Thanks for the sympathy, but sympathy is the last thing I want or need right now. Honestly, I just want to be alone with the remains of my could-have-been girlfriend had I made the right decisions."

"You're not going to get any better like that. I think you should do what your brother suggested. Try to take down the Circle. Fight it. Avenge her. More importantly, take your revenge on your mother for all those years of abuse. On your instructors who supported her and did those horrible things to you. Do what you think she would have done." Macey said.

"How much did you hear?"

"I heard enough to know that you're making the right decision. Carson, I know that you weren't raised like me, but you were raised _like_ me." She sighed as she pushed some hair out of her eyes. Taking a seat next to me and Cammie's corpse, Macey continued, "You were raised with a mother who didn't care and frequently beat the living crap out of you. You were raised without a father figure, much like I was. You were watched every minute of every day and it was a crappy childhood. I made bad decisions and so did you, but I had someone put me on the right track. I was sent to Gallagher for a reason, the same one you were sent to Blackthorn for. We were sent here to change our live for the better, and I think you realize that now."

" I don't think I know what better is." I replied honestly. "Did you do it on purpose?" I asked.

"Do what?"

"Sound like her." I said. "Sound like her and pretend to be her so that I thought that she wasn't dead and she was standing here next to me."

"No," she sighed, "I guess it was just rotten luck."

"Can you just leave us alone for a bit? I just want to be alone with her." Picking up Cammie's cold, dead hand, I turned to face Macey as she stood up and turned to leave. "Wait," I stopped her, "don't tell anyone about this okay? She may be gone, but I want us to have this one last memory together." Macey nodded in understanding then turned to leave.  
>"I'm sorry Gallagher Girl. So, so, so sorry. I love you." I pulled the sheet back and placed a final kiss on her forehead. It felt slightly warm. I told myself it was my imagination, but maybe just maybe, Cammie's heart could still be beating.<p> 


	23. A Plan Is Formed

**Hi guys I know it's been a really really long time since i've updated but I have a good reason. So when i last updated, i had just finished soccer season with my club team. at the time i was in a really bad place. i was crying about 90 percent of the time because the one thing that i had loved and cherished since i was a little kid might be out of my life for good. imagine having the one thing you love slowly turning into something you hate and that was what was happening to me. my parents considered having me quit altogether and the scary thing was that i was agreeing. the thing is that i didn't only hate soccer at the time, i started to hate my teammates and myself because i'd look back at the game and realize that'd i'd become this horrible monster and it was scaring me. i just got so sad all of a sudden that it was overwhelming. ****soccer is one of things close to my heart so when i started up my high school season i went into it thinking that it wasn't going to end well, but as my season went on i rediscovered my love the sport and for my friends. as time went by i've reinvented myself. i'm a more positive person now and i'm managing my time a lot better now. i'm on my way to doing a lot better and i'm starting soccer season with my club now soon. I just wanted to let you guys know that i'm sorry for not being able to update my stories, but things will be getting better hopefully. I'll try to update my story How Long Does Forever Last within the week, but i can't make any promises. Anyways, i hope this super long chapter makes up for it. So Read. Enjoy. Review. **

**Zach POV**

"What do you mean we can't give her a funeral?" I exclaimed barging into Ms. Morgan's office. Abby and Townsend looked startled at my unexpected entrance. "She's your _daughter_ for Pete's sake! You have to have a funeral for her or something. You can't just let her sit in that room and rot. What will the other students say when they go into the infirmary and see a corpse there? Whether they're spies in training or not, no one needs to see that kind of thing. Not if they don't have to."

"Zachary, I understand your upset over this, but if we do hold a funeral or have her cremated then the Circle will find out she's dead and they will win. You were in that prison long enough to know that they want her dead, nay the _need_ her dead." Ms. Morgan explained. "I don't like this anymore than you do Zach, but we must think about the bigger picture. The Circle wanted Cammie dead for a reason and if they know that she _is_ dead then they will have won. There's nothing we can do. This is how things must be."

"She was your _daughter_. She deserves some sort of ceremony. You can't ju-"

"And she will receive one." Mr. Solomon interrupted me. Abby gave me a death glare as she shook her head. Her cheeks were newly tinted pink and her eyes held dark rings around them.

"When will she receive one Mr. Solomon?" I asked. "Will she receive one once the Circle is destroyed completely? How about when there is no evil left in the world? If you put this in the perspective of the Circle, then Cammie will just decompose on that gurney until all that's left of her are bones!"

"And how do you suppose we fix this situation then? What is your brilliant plan to put Cammie to rest?" Ms. Morgan snapped. "Any action we take, anything we try to do that will give the Circle the slightest idea that she is dead will be the downfall of us all."

"Cremate her." I said in response. _At least if they do find out she's dead then they can't take her body. _"The Circle assumes that she's still here or somewhere else hiding, if we cremate her then there's no way they can find her."

"They know she's not that good Zach, they found her once, and they'll find her again. Your brother should know." Ms. Morgan sighed, "I'm afraid we have no choice, she must remain here."

"With all due respect to you adults and what you think is right, but that is complete and utter bull shit." I turned and stormed out of Ms. Morgan's office, slamming the door on the way out. I felt tears running down my cheeks but I was so angry that I didn't even try to wipe them away.

* * *

><p>"What'd they say Zach?" Liz asked me when I returned to the dorm lounge.<p>

"They're just going to let her stay here and rot." Liz gasped, placing a hand over her mouth as water pooled in her eyes.

"That's unethical, unjust, and just plain wrong! Ms. Morgan wouldn't do that to Cammie. I mean, Cammie is her flesh and blood, she's not just some agent that didn't make it."

"I know Liz," I said giving her a hug. She cried into my shirt causing the green fabric to stain a shade darker. She wrapped her arms around me as I smoothed her hair back. Her sobs began to slow, but she kept her head resting against my chest.  
>"I miss her." She whispered.<p>

"I miss her too Lizzie, I miss her too." Placing my head on hers we stood in the lounge comforting one another. "She was so good Lizzie. She was brave and caring. She would risk everything for someone she barely knew. I was in love with her, I still am in love with her."

"I'm sorry Zach."

"You know the worst part?" I chuckled sadly, "I never got to tell her, even worse was that even if I did, I knew she didn't love me back."

"Don't say that Zach, Cammie loved you, I know she did. She may not have ever left someone behind, but I know that she wouldn't have gone to the extents that she did to keep you safe." Liz, still in my arms, gave me a tight squeeze and pulled away.

"I know she loved me Liz, but she didn't love me in the way I loved her. I could see it, in the way she looked at Carson. He was the Angle and I was just the little human that got left behind. He might not have been the good guy, but he sure as hell wasn't the bad one, and I think that Cammie knew that. I think that she realized that even though Carson wasn't all good, he wasn't all bad either, and there was also a part in between that didn't know what he was and was scared. And that's the part that she loved, she loved the good him, the bad him, and the part that didn't know. She loved him. She loved him like I love her."

"Zach," Liz tried to speak, but found herself lost for words.

"You don't have to say anything Lizzie, I know that my chance with Cammie was long gone before I even met her. But I will say, she was sure as hell worth the fight."

"I'm sorry Zach." Liz whispered. "I know I can tell you one thing for sure though. She did-no does- love you. She loves you and she will always love you. Even when she can't be here to tell you that."

"Thanks Liz," I said, "That means a lot."

"Zach!" I heard a shout from the girl's corridor. "What did Ms. Morgan say? What's the plan?"

"Cammie is to remain here, with no funeral." I repeated somberly.

"You have got to be kidding me right? That's horrible!" Macey exclaimed. "They can't do that, it's just wrong!"

"That's what I said," Liz grumbled next to me. I gave a light chuckle and it felt good. I hadn't laughed in a while, more or less smiled.

"What are we going to do about the Circle?" Carson asked entering the lounge. He wasn't wearing a shirt (typical) and a pair of sweatpants. His hair was plastered to his face and his hands were bloody and bruised.

"You look like hell." Bex told him.

"Well, hell's pretty hot so thank you." He replied rolling his eyes. Macey threw him the gauze sitting on the table next to her. "I don't need this." Carson said glaring at the gauze and then giving Macey a confused look.

"Ya, and I don't need three pairs of pumps and four pairs of stilettos, but those are just the lies we tell ourselves. Now, bandage up Pretty Boy."

"Sorry, I'm spoken for McHenry, but thank you for calling me pretty."

I felt anger rise in my stomach as I clenched and unclenched my fists. "Too soon Carson," Liz said. She placed a comforting had on my shoulder and I felt some of my anger diminish, but not much. Liz continued to glare at Carson but he shrugged it off.

"So," Macey said breaking the silence, "What now?"

"I guess that's the million dollar question." I said.

"I saw we take out the heads one at a time." Bex suggested. "Slowly and painfully."

"Bex," I said, "the Circle is like a hydra; if you kill one head, two grow back in it's place."

"We have to do something!" She yelled in response. "They killed my best friend."

"She was my best friend too." Macey snapped at Bex. "And don't you forget that. She was all of our best friends. She was the shoulder we need to cry on and always the one of the frontlines when it came down to getting dirty. Cammie was our leader and our friend. But, Bex, you're acting like you're the only one who's affected by this. You're not!"

"Don't you even try to say that I don't know what I'm doing McHenry. She may have been your best friend but even so, you'll still never know her like I do." Bex responded, pushing her face into Macey's, their noses touching and foreheads pushing together.

"Look," I interrupted, causing both girls to glare in my direction. "Fighting will get us nowhere. I understand that Cammie was both of your friends, but do you really think that she would have wanted this? As for the Circle, we can't just rush into this. We have to plan and be smart. If we go in like chickens with our heads cut off, we're going to end up in McDonald's. Dead and sold like cheap meat." I said in response. The girls gave a little gag at the mention of McDonald's.

"Alright then Zach, it's your turn for a plan." Bex retorted, her voice clipped and chilled. "Spill your guts, what do you know?"

"You'll have to give me time, I can't just come up with a plan out of thin air." I ran my fingers through my knotted hair. It was getting long, falling right in front of my eyes, constantly obscuring my vision.

"First things first," Carson said, interrupting my train of thought, "We'll need reinforcements."

"The adults are out." Macey said, "They'd never let us do this mission in a million years."

"Macey, didn't you meet that couple at one of your dad's senator parties over the summer?" Macey gave Liz a confused look. "The hot one and the girl who helped Abby when those guys dressed as presidents had a stick up."

"Oh, him." Macey rolled her eyes. "He's out, and I'm pretty sure he's not legal either; neither of them are." Macey pondered for a second. "They might be able to help us though. I'll see if I can get in contact with them though."

"You do that. In the meantime, there are a couple of people we need to retrieve." I said.

"Retrieve? What do you mean retrieve? We're all here." Liz asked; her face scrunched up in puzzlement.

"I think he means us." A new voice said from behind us. Everyone turned on a dime to stare at the three who had joined us. "Miss me?"

"I was told you were dead, or more likely, as good as dead." Bex said, her mouth open in astonishment. I'm almost positive that there was only one person who could ever make Bex Baxter stutter.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you not to believe everything you hear?" Grant smiled and ran to hug her.

"Hi Liz," Jonas waved shyly from behind Grant.

"Jonas!" Liz yelled as she sprinted over to him. Her little body moved faster than I had anticipated; up until the point where she tripped on the edge of the table. "Oopsie daisy."

Jonas captured Liz in his arm and whispered, "I missed you Lizzie."

"I missed you too." Liz squeezed him hard causing Jonas to let out an "oof."

"Reunions are great and all," Carson mumbled, "but shouldn't we be focusing on our next step.

"How did you guys escape?" I turned to Grant. I was skeptical of their presence. It was nearly impossible for me to escape the Circle. Cammie and I barely did; we were just lucky."  
>"That would be because of me." Another new voice said from behind me.<p>

"More friends," Carson grumbled, "Fantastic."

"Aw, Carson, I thought you'd be happy to see me." The girl said. Her eyes were a myriad of colors switching from blue to brown to green. He long chocolate hair was tied into a tight braid. I first noticed her pointed sharp features giving her a fierce stare. She smiled causing her dimples to stand out prominently on her face.

"You bitch." He sneered

"Well that's no way to greet a lady." She joked.

"And no way to talk to my sister." Tyler said stepping out from behind her.

"Of _course_ she's your sister!" Carson yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "It all makes so much sense now. You both love to ruin my life."

"Well obviously Carson knows who this girl is, but could you _please_ fill the rest of us in?" Macey complained, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, this is my sister Courtney," Tyler said.

"Courtney Prince at your service." She said, taking a small bow.

"So that's why you turned me into the CIA?" Carson sneered, "You had me tortured when I could have been here staying with Cammie while she died!"

"Boo hoo, cry your pretty little eyes out Carson. We have bigger fish to fry." She said tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Carson's right." Bex said, turning to Tyler, "Your sister is a bitch."

"And I'm not disagreeing." He said, shrugging. "Courtney is here to help though. She has a plan."

"How would she know anything about the Circle, she's CIA." Carson said, dropping himself into one of the plush chair and folding his arms across his chest. His face was red with rage and I was waiting for the steam to start coming from his ears.

"I may be CIA but that doesn't mean I can't be Circle as well." Courtney winked.

"Is there anyone here who has actually never been with the Circle besides Macey, Liz and I?" Bex said tearing herself away from Grant.

"Nope, pretty much not." Tyler shrugged, "We've all been there and done that."

"You make it sound like a silly trend," I grumbled to myself.

"Look," Courtney said, "We need to act fast, last I heard, the Circle was preparing to launch."

"Launch?" Liz said, "Launch what?" Carson gave Liz a confused look but said nothing.

"The Circle has control on almost every single government in the world besides the U.S. and Britain. Britain and us being two of the most powerful forces in the world can easily turn those governments. Over the years the Circle has been planting nuclear missiles in their allying countries. Within the week, these missiles will be launched on the coasts of the U.S. and the heart of Britain. The U.S. will obviously see this as an act of war and retaliate, same with Britain. The Circle has some very smart people on their side guys; they're planning to redirect the counterattacks to the other country. Pitting the U.S. and Britain against each other."

"They're trying to start World War III." I whispered.

"Yes, and once the U.S. and Britain are destroyed, the Circle will have complete control over all world affairs: trade, military, politics, everything." Courtney explained.

"Nuclear war." I said baffled, "Why? How would this benefit them?"

"Zach," She said turning to me, "If they succeed, they will have complete and total power over every aspect of life. They'll rule the world. Literally. They'll have control over every breath you take, every move you make, they'll be like gods."

"How do you know all this Courtney, why should we trust you?" I asked, "So far, you've nearly killed my brother, deceived him on top of that, admitted to being an agent of the Circle, and your brother is Tyler, and no offense but I don't trust him anymore than I do you. It seemed like right when he showed up, everything started to go wrong."

"You're right Zach, I haven't given you a reason to trust me, but I'm all you have. I've given you a task and you can either waste time trying to figure out what's going on by yourself only to get the same answer or watch the Circle start World War III."

"I guess you're right," I sighed, "But know this Courtney, if you're lying, your head off your skinny little neck before you can even _open_ your mouth to say your last words."

"Even if I was lying Goode, you don't scare me." She said rolling her eyes. "I've taken on bunnies scarier than you."

"I may not scare you, but they should." I said pointing to Bex and Liz. Macey was still in the other room talking to her foreign friend.

"How do you know all this anyways?" I asked.

"Should I tell them or are you going to?" Courtney asked Tyler.

"I'll tell them." He said. "Our father is the real leader of the Circle." Liz gasped while Bex sat looking confused. The boys kept their eyes locked on the siblings, each sending a death glare.

"How can he be the leader, I thought that your mom was." Macey said turning to Carson and me.

"No, our mom is just a high ranked operative, more of a second in command." I explained.

"Well that would have been nice to know a long time ago." Bex grumbled.

"I didn't even know that he had children." Carson said, baffled.

"That's because he'd not supposed to. No one knows about us, we've been kept an absolute secret." Courtney explained.

"What'd I miss." Macey said returning to the lounge. "I talked to that guy Nick Bennett and he said he'd be here in a bit. Apparently his school is taking a school trip somewhere around here."

"So that makes ten of us." Courntey concluded completely changing the subject from its previous topic.

"There could have been eleven." Carson mumbled.

"Oh for Pete's sake get over yourself!" I screamed. Everyone stared me in shock, including Carson. "It's like you think that no one else is effected by this! You cannot throw yourself this own freaking pity party Carson. You are acting weak and selfish."

"I'm not weak." He sneered.

"Then don't act like it. You do nothing but sit in the corner and sulk and all you have to say is 'oh woe is me my sweet Cammie isn't here.' Well news flash hot shot, _I loved her too._ So put on your big-freaking-boy pants, build yourself a bridge and _get over it_. Do something constructive and help avenge her instead of sulking there. I'm hurting too, we all are but you don't see us wallowing in self misery."

"You don't know what you're saying. You didn't love her like I did." He tried to reason. His voice wavered and he sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than me.

"Well you're sure as hell not acting like it." I spat.

"You don't understand." He wailed, "None of you understand what I'm going through. Why did they have to kill my Gallagher Girl?" Carson yelled, "This has nothing to do with her."

"That's where you're wrong. This has everything to do with her." Courtney said, adding in.

"Then tell me." He said, "Tell me why she _had_ to die for their plan to succeed."

"Because their plan is flawed." Courtney said.

"Sounds pretty sound to me," Grant mumbled. I turned to shoot him a glare as Bex lightly slapped his arm.

"Cammie knew where the control building was located. It's place where they're going to launch and redirect the missiles from. She would have been the only person alive who could have stopped them. That's why she had to die."

"She didn't know. That's why she went missing, to find answers." Bex spoke up.

"I think she had the answers all along." Tyler said, interrupting.

"What makes you think that?" Liz asked, stepping closer to Jonas to grab his hand.

"She was always drawn to certain places, like she knew there was something there that she was missing. She was drawn to Rome and she was drawn to DC. What would she be looking for?" Tyler asked.

"Maybe I can be of assistance then," Once again another voice said. This voice, however, was distinctly British, much like Bex. "or, you know, I can come back later."

"Nick? Nick Bennett?" Macey asked.

"Ah, so this is the fiery Macey McHenry I spoke to. Hale said you had a bit of spunk." Nick said smiling.

"And you're the boy who helped rob the Henley." Nick's face drained of color. His mouth opened slightly and he took a step back.

"How did you know that?" He asked.

"McHenry, I swear if you say what I think you're going to say I will personally rip your head off your shoulders." Carson said glaring at Macey.

"Spy." She said winking at Carson. He just sat there seething.

"What makes you think that you would know what Cammie was drawn to?" Carson snapped. "Why do you think that you knew her better than any of us?

"She was in London. It was a while ago, but she was there. I tried to pick her pocket because it was a dreary day and she looked like a gullible tourist. She lead me into an ally and kicked my arse. Then after I showed her that I had taken her passport while she was beating me up, she gave me this." Nick handed me a slip of paper. I unfolded it and it was a brochure for the Ruby Slipper exhibit at the Smithsonian. I handed it to Liz and she just stared at it.

"If you'll excuse me now, I must be going. I'll come back tomorrow though and you can tell me why I'm needed and if my services can be useful to you."

Nick turned to leave as we all crowded around Liz to look at the brochure.

"His accent was hot." Macey said. I chuckled as Liz shook her head in agreement.

"You know," Tyler said, "We can have British accents too."

"Ya," Macey said, "But we'd know yours are fake. There's a difference between having an accent for a cover and _having an accent_." Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Wait," Bex said, "How did he get in here." We all stopped looking at the brochure and faced one another. No one knew how someone who was no more than a pick-pocket got past one of the most complicated security systems in the world. Now we were really worried. Liz happened to be the one to break our confused silence however.

"Red ruby slippers." Liz whispered with a sudden realization, "Cammie was drawn to red ruby slippers."

"Well Blackthorn Boy," I said coming to the same conclusion while looking over at my brother, "Looks like we're going to Kansas."

**So Grant and Jonas are back. Tyler and Courtney are related and the children of the head of the Circle. and a guest appearance by Nick from heist society fun(:. The group is going to Kansas and the Circle's plan is revealed. Let me know what you think of it. :) **


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